1 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:04,800 Speaker 1: Also media. 2 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:07,680 Speaker 2: Hi everyone, and welcome to the podcast. It's me James 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:11,360 Speaker 2: today and I'm joined by Danny. Danny's an engineering photographer 4 00:00:11,360 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 2: who lived in North East Syria from twenty eighteen until 5 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 2: twenty twenty three and a founding member of the RISE, 6 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,800 Speaker 2: which is the Rajarva Information Center if you're not familiar, 7 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:22,599 Speaker 2: and she worked for self administration Civil Engineering while she 8 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 2: was there. Welcome to show Danny. 9 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:26,440 Speaker 3: Hi James, it's really good to be on Yeah. 10 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:28,240 Speaker 2: Jas, thanks thanks for coming. I know it's like a 11 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:32,080 Speaker 2: stressful time. So what I thought we would do is 12 00:00:32,720 --> 00:00:35,520 Speaker 2: there's been a lot of reporting on Syria that people 13 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:37,479 Speaker 2: have probably seen if they're living in the US or 14 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 2: the UK. Nearly all of it has either excluded or 15 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:44,080 Speaker 2: like footnoted what's happening in North and East Syria and 16 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 2: specifically in the areas that are under a self administration. 17 00:00:48,400 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 2: So I was hoping today we could give people a 18 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:52,879 Speaker 2: little more introduction to what's happening there. There's been a 19 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 2: lot of like jubilation about what's happening in Syria, and 20 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 2: things have been very far from universally positive. 21 00:00:59,000 --> 00:00:59,120 Speaker 3: Right. 22 00:00:59,160 --> 00:01:02,520 Speaker 2: There's a massive dis placement of civilians, ethnic lensing of 23 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:05,559 Speaker 2: areas that have been captured by the Turkish Baksterian National 24 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 2: Army and genuine like peril for the self administration project, 25 00:01:10,040 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 2: the like of which we haven't seen for a long time. 26 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 2: So perhaps if listeners an't familiar, would you give them 27 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:18,200 Speaker 2: the real basics of the self administration of the AA 28 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:21,200 Speaker 2: ANDES and what it means and what's going on there. 29 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:25,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, well that's a big question because it's like it's 30 00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 3: a big project. It's been going on for quite some time. Yeah, yeah, 31 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:32,679 Speaker 3: it really has. It's kind of been lost in discussions 32 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,119 Speaker 3: and news about the Serian Civil War because it has 33 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:40,560 Speaker 3: been such a complex, multipolar, multi access, multi ethnic conflict, 34 00:01:41,160 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 3: and it's been going on for what like thirteen fourteen 35 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 3: years now, yeah, coming up to fourteen years. The Kurds 36 00:01:48,160 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 3: in the northeast had been preparing for some time before 37 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:55,480 Speaker 3: the outbreak of civil war back in twenty eleven for 38 00:01:55,680 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 3: something like this. Obviously they didn't they didn't know this 39 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 3: was going to happen. That they had been working on 40 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 3: revolutionary emancipation for decades, and in particular since around two thousand, 41 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 3: they've been working on this concept of democratic and federalism, 42 00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,800 Speaker 3: which is moving away from a sort of what they 43 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,960 Speaker 3: call an old paradigm of Marxist Leninist thought to this 44 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 3: system they've now quite effectively built up there where democracy 45 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 3: is bottom up. It's structured around small communes and self 46 00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:34,400 Speaker 3: organizing units, cooperatives. There's a market economy, but it's not 47 00:02:34,440 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 3: a catalyst economy where there's sort of radical emancipation of 48 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,920 Speaker 3: oppressed to people's particular women who are really centered in 49 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:46,240 Speaker 3: the revolutionary process and organizing there. And I think because 50 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 3: they maybe you can't call them conflict avoided, that they 51 00:02:49,600 --> 00:02:54,440 Speaker 3: haven't avoided conflict. They very famously defeated Isis amongst other 52 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:58,639 Speaker 3: groups in the northeast, they fought against Alan's Refront and 53 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:04,919 Speaker 3: various other Hadi groups. They also didn't enter into serious 54 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 3: conflict with either their FSA as they were, or the 55 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:12,200 Speaker 3: regime and the assad regime, and so they kind of 56 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 3: managed to carve out a sort of democratic and semi enclave. 57 00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 3: I mean people who describe it as a state that 58 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 3: they quite vehemently say it's not a state in the 59 00:03:22,120 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 3: northeast of Syria. Whilst the worst of the fighting was 60 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,600 Speaker 3: between the Assid regime and the FSA and groups that 61 00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:34,280 Speaker 3: came out of the FSA in the west and south 62 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:34,920 Speaker 3: of the country. 63 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's very good summary. I think like 64 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 2: it gets missed maybe because of how relatively successful it's 65 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 2: been compared to other democratization projects within Syria. It gets 66 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:50,000 Speaker 2: missed that like when people are talking about what will 67 00:03:50,040 --> 00:03:54,080 Speaker 2: happen in Syria now bizarrely and I don't quite like 68 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 2: I don't quite understand how we get here, but people 69 00:03:56,800 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 2: seem to go to like Libya or I understand how 70 00:03:59,240 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 2: we get here process like orientalism and ignorance, but we 71 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 2: have a functioning democracy an example of like, it's not 72 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 2: just Kurdish people, right, it's lots of communities living together 73 00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 2: in northern East Syria, and because of democratic and federalism 74 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:16,479 Speaker 2: they're able to coexist and still feel that they have 75 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 2: enough sovereignty to be safe. Is that fair? 76 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:24,560 Speaker 3: Yeah? Yeah, absolutely, And I think something that it's hard 77 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:28,720 Speaker 3: to convey or fully understand unless you spend a lot 78 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 3: of time there or you're deeply involved with any of 79 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:35,240 Speaker 3: these communities, is quite how hard that was to do. Yeah, 80 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:37,880 Speaker 3: a lot of different ethnic groups, political groups that hate 81 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:41,800 Speaker 3: each other, you know. Yeah, the Kurds, they brought in 82 00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:45,600 Speaker 3: lots of different policies like their right to be taught 83 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 3: in your mother tongue. When they took power twenty twelve onwards, 84 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 3: they were very keen not to just sort of replace 85 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:55,799 Speaker 3: everything with Kurdish, make a Kurdish state, you know, start 86 00:04:55,839 --> 00:04:58,440 Speaker 3: being the oppressor and sort of be oppressed. They made 87 00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 3: sure that they continue us An Arabic as the majority 88 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:04,719 Speaker 3: language because it is the majority language. That the north 89 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:07,479 Speaker 3: and east of Syria is still an Arab majority area, 90 00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 3: and this is despite the fact that they've been pretty 91 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:14,279 Speaker 3: horrendously oppressed by the Arab population through the Bath Party 92 00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:18,360 Speaker 3: and its oppressive systems for decades. So it has been 93 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:22,599 Speaker 3: a pretty hard ongoing process to negotiate and to put 94 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 3: aside pretty serious conflicts between quite a few different groups 95 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:27,679 Speaker 3: that exist there. 96 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 2: Yeah, it won't be any easier of across the whole 97 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 2: country than it was there, but like, they have a 98 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,520 Speaker 2: system that works, and it's kind of frustrating to see 99 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 2: these discussions of what happens next that just ignore the 100 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 2: fact that there's a functioning multi ethnic democracy right there. 101 00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:46,719 Speaker 2: So if we do just look at women's liberation, you know, 102 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 2: I've reported from lots of places around the world, lots 103 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:50,479 Speaker 2: of places in that part of the world, and the 104 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 2: difference is profound in like everyday life. It's not just 105 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:57,680 Speaker 2: a kind of rhetorical commitment, right, Like, at least my 106 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 2: impression as a man is that, like, this is a 107 00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 2: revolution by women, not a revolution and it's about women. 108 00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 2: It's not a revolution by men that like seeks to 109 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 2: liberate women, says it's going to liberate women, you know, 110 00:06:10,200 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 2: with the US in verie Afghanistan saying it's going to 111 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 2: liberate women, and look what we got. And like the 112 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:17,280 Speaker 2: difference in just the way people are able to live, 113 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:20,880 Speaker 2: like every aspect of everyday life is completely different. But 114 00:06:21,520 --> 00:06:24,520 Speaker 2: that's in danger right now. The narrative I guess that 115 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 2: people will be familiar with from Syria is that the 116 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:29,160 Speaker 2: state has been defeated, the A Sad regime has been defeated, 117 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:35,080 Speaker 2: and that therefore the revolution has succeeded. But the A 118 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:37,919 Speaker 2: Sad regime is not the only state in play in Syria, right, So, 119 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 2: can you explain the Turkish antipathy to the project in 120 00:06:42,800 --> 00:06:46,520 Speaker 2: northern East Syria and how that's manifesting itself currently. 121 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:50,239 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's pretty hard to discuss any of the stuff 122 00:06:50,279 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 3: without talking about Turkey and without understanding where they're coming from. Yeah, 123 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:59,480 Speaker 3: I think it's something that is said enough or understood 124 00:06:59,560 --> 00:07:04,120 Speaker 3: enough that the modern state of Turkey is an nationalist project. 125 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:06,720 Speaker 3: And you know, I don't say that as a slur. 126 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:09,320 Speaker 3: That's like a basic founding principle of the state. It's 127 00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:14,240 Speaker 3: a state founded on genocide and the mass for demographic 128 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 3: change across the whole country. And it's continued that way, 129 00:07:19,360 --> 00:07:22,679 Speaker 3: and there have been reforms for sure, but that's still 130 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:28,080 Speaker 3: a founding principle. And even now sort of speaking a 131 00:07:28,120 --> 00:07:31,080 Speaker 3: non Turkish language in the Turkish Parliament is a pretty 132 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 3: serious violation. And the size of Turkey, the size of 133 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:37,520 Speaker 3: its economy, the size of its military, the regional power 134 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 3: status they have in the Middle East means that they 135 00:07:40,600 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 3: have an enormous gravity. They have an enormous amount of 136 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:47,200 Speaker 3: power over Syria. A lot of the goods and services 137 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 3: that Syria relies on coming through Turkey or rely on 138 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 3: the Turkish industry, and the Turkish military is a huge 139 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:01,960 Speaker 3: supporter of their groups in the northwestam and the Syrian 140 00:08:02,040 --> 00:08:07,720 Speaker 3: National Army, and of course the Kurdish question within Turkey 141 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:12,600 Speaker 3: is the main reason for their antipathy towards the What's 142 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:15,040 Speaker 3: been built up in North East Syria. As much as 143 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:19,680 Speaker 3: the self determination for oppressed people's minorities is something that's 144 00:08:19,720 --> 00:08:23,280 Speaker 3: an issue, the fact that it's Kurdish led, and in 145 00:08:23,320 --> 00:08:28,680 Speaker 3: particular it's emancipating for Kurdish people threatens this nationalist aspect 146 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:32,559 Speaker 3: of their state, and they kind of they see it 147 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:34,199 Speaker 3: something that needs to be nipped in the Bud right, 148 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:39,040 Speaker 3: and they've they've sort of done that with Northern Iraq, 149 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 3: that the Kurdish region of Northern Iraq by essentially vassalizing 150 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:47,400 Speaker 3: the KDP, the main party there, and they know they 151 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:50,520 Speaker 3: can't do the same in North Eastyria, and the military 152 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:55,160 Speaker 3: option is their best chance, their best hope of nipping 153 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:58,800 Speaker 3: Kurdish emancipation in Kurdish sub determination in the Bud and 154 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:01,760 Speaker 3: preventing it from sort of snowboarding across the region. 155 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think we should probably mention that, Like I 156 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:08,280 Speaker 2: guess if we talk about like the electoral method or 157 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:13,000 Speaker 2: the electoral path people in Turkish Kurdistan, in Northern Kurdistan, 158 00:09:13,160 --> 00:09:15,240 Speaker 2: if you want to call it. In addition to the 159 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 2: arms struggle which has been there since nineteen eighty four, 160 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:20,839 Speaker 2: they have also like tried to vote and repeatedly seen 161 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:26,319 Speaker 2: their votes ignored or changed, or their elected officials removed. 162 00:09:26,520 --> 00:09:28,200 Speaker 2: Like this is within the last year, I'm not talking 163 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:31,280 Speaker 2: about back in the eighties and nineties, and like Turkey 164 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 2: has been aggressively attacking any attempts at like self determination 165 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:38,520 Speaker 2: within the country and then as you say, like militarily 166 00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:43,679 Speaker 2: attacking the Kurdish freedom movement within North and Eassyria. Do 167 00:09:43,720 --> 00:09:46,680 Speaker 2: you want to talk about the Syrian National Army or 168 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:49,040 Speaker 2: the Turkish back Free Syrian Army, whatever you want to 169 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:52,200 Speaker 2: call them, and explain, Like, I think part of what 170 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:54,120 Speaker 2: we're dealing with is like that Turkey has a very 171 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:57,920 Speaker 2: well established state media project and they seem to do 172 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:00,960 Speaker 2: very well and like creating viral social media content. So 173 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:03,760 Speaker 2: people might not be fully familiar with who the SNA 174 00:10:03,800 --> 00:10:07,640 Speaker 2: are and specifically like Turkey's role in creating them. Do 175 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:09,200 Speaker 2: you want to explain that a bit to people? 176 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:11,880 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean this is this is one of the 177 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:14,920 Speaker 3: reasons why I think it's so hard for people to 178 00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 3: report on the Syrian Civil War. It's very hard to 179 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:20,839 Speaker 3: convey like a simple coherent narrative of one side versus 180 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:23,960 Speaker 3: the other, you know, like Ukraine versus Russia. The Russian 181 00:10:24,000 --> 00:10:27,360 Speaker 3: world and the Ukrainian world, because there are there are 182 00:10:27,400 --> 00:10:29,440 Speaker 3: so many different groups in the sna IS that it's 183 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:32,880 Speaker 3: an important one and they are their group. Together with 184 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:37,720 Speaker 3: this concept of the rebels that have liberated Syria, despite 185 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:41,079 Speaker 3: the fact that they're not actually part of High Alshan, 186 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:45,800 Speaker 3: the liberation movement as it calls itself, that have taken 187 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:50,520 Speaker 3: over the Syria. Yeah, the Syrian National Army, it's it's 188 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:54,959 Speaker 3: kind of like a loose collection of various some of 189 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:59,720 Speaker 3: them called themselves brigades or groups. It's essentially a military 190 00:11:00,400 --> 00:11:05,840 Speaker 3: proxy force of Turkey. They don't have a coherent political framework. 191 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:10,120 Speaker 3: They're not revolutionary groups. They're not liberatory or mancipatory. They 192 00:11:10,160 --> 00:11:12,200 Speaker 3: wouldn't describe themselves as that in the same way that 193 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:16,840 Speaker 3: maybe HTS would. I mean, the Kurds in North Eastyria 194 00:11:17,200 --> 00:11:19,480 Speaker 3: describe them as gangs, which kind of sounds like a 195 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:21,440 Speaker 3: propagana term, but when you actually look at what they do, 196 00:11:21,760 --> 00:11:24,440 Speaker 3: they really are like a sort of a criminal enterprise, 197 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:28,840 Speaker 3: a criminal gang that's used as a convenient proxy for 198 00:11:28,840 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 3: force by Turkey because ultimately Turkey has like a massive 199 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 3: military then maybe is quite underfunded and not particularly ast 200 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:40,280 Speaker 3: After the air force has suffered pretty seriously from the 201 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:43,800 Speaker 3: fallout of the cop in twenty sixteen. But the army 202 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:46,840 Speaker 3: is massive, it's relatively well funded, in their drone program 203 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:51,320 Speaker 3: is huge. The thing that they struggle with is the 204 00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:55,800 Speaker 3: losses that are incurred against Kurdish groups, particularly the PKK 205 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:59,719 Speaker 3: in the mountains between Ark and Turkey. And they need 206 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:02,680 Speaker 3: to control that because they realized that they've been fighting 207 00:12:02,920 --> 00:12:05,640 Speaker 3: military because as you say, since the early nineteen eighties, 208 00:12:06,080 --> 00:12:09,000 Speaker 3: and they can't have a vitnance situation right of a 209 00:12:09,040 --> 00:12:14,360 Speaker 3: mass movement against their military occupation and against their military efforts. 210 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:19,640 Speaker 3: And Syria, they can't afford financially or politically to get 211 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:23,840 Speaker 3: into a quagmire there, and so by funding this sort 212 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:27,120 Speaker 3: of collection of groups called the SNA, that's their way 213 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:30,760 Speaker 3: of being able to incur pretty massive losses without having 214 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:35,720 Speaker 3: to report on it, without that creating unrest or opposition 215 00:12:35,840 --> 00:12:38,760 Speaker 3: within the Turkish population of Turkey. 216 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:41,080 Speaker 2: Right, And I think especially when like some of the 217 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,120 Speaker 2: things the SNA have done, which we can maybe get 218 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:47,960 Speaker 2: into in MANPJ like, it gives them a deniability that 219 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:50,520 Speaker 2: wouldn't exist if that was regular soldiers doing that, Like 220 00:12:50,880 --> 00:12:53,839 Speaker 2: some stuff which is war crimes is I guess a 221 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:56,120 Speaker 2: nice way of saying it, like a more sanitized way 222 00:12:56,120 --> 00:12:59,080 Speaker 2: of saying it. Horrific stuff, really terrible stuff. This has 223 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:02,520 Speaker 2: been happening since at least twenty eighteen. But Turkey doesn't 224 00:13:02,559 --> 00:13:04,640 Speaker 2: have to be held accountable for that because, like you said, 225 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:07,360 Speaker 2: it's not Turkish, it's not the Turkish Army. Do you 226 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:11,360 Speaker 2: want to explain how the situation in North Syria has 227 00:13:11,480 --> 00:13:14,599 Speaker 2: changed since what was it like two weeks ago? A 228 00:13:14,679 --> 00:13:17,520 Speaker 2: week ago? I guess that they moved south from Aleppo 229 00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:21,160 Speaker 2: and start the HTS Largy with some support from SNA, 230 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 2: moved towards Damascus, and then the SNA launched its own 231 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:27,840 Speaker 2: assault on the Self Administration. Can you explain a little 232 00:13:27,840 --> 00:13:31,400 Speaker 2: bit of what's happened there in terms of displacement and 233 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:34,400 Speaker 2: in terms of the terrain that's the SNA have captured. 234 00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:36,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's been very fast moving now, as you say, 235 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,600 Speaker 3: like it's only been two weeks since the Battle Aleppos started, 236 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:44,640 Speaker 3: if you call it a battle. So the SDH, so 237 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:49,439 Speaker 3: this is like the alliance of military groups that falls 238 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:51,480 Speaker 3: under the remit of the Self Administration in the north 239 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:54,200 Speaker 3: East Siria. So the YPG and the YPG are like 240 00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 3: the most famous and largest components of this force, but 241 00:13:57,080 --> 00:13:59,920 Speaker 3: there are a whole bunch of Arab and Syrian and 242 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:04,280 Speaker 3: Armenian units within the SDF. They held this sort of 243 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:09,040 Speaker 3: salient pushing out into northwest Aria towards Afrin, which was 244 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:12,600 Speaker 3: captured by the SNA in Turkey in twenty eighteen. That 245 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:15,760 Speaker 3: was on one side finded by HTS and on the 246 00:14:15,800 --> 00:14:18,400 Speaker 3: other by the SNA. When things really kicked off, the 247 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:22,680 Speaker 3: SNA started a pretty concerned campaign to capture this area 248 00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 3: and own as Shedpa, and because of its position and 249 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:31,320 Speaker 3: it's relatively difficult terrain and difficult logitical position to resupply, 250 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:34,960 Speaker 3: they pulled back from that towards Aleppo and man Beach, 251 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:38,720 Speaker 3: which is the only major city that the SDS still 252 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 3: held on the west of the Euphrates. It's the area 253 00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:47,880 Speaker 3: closest to Aleppo. They got hit pretty hard. If you 254 00:14:47,920 --> 00:14:49,960 Speaker 3: follow a live upday map or and you vie sort 255 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:52,760 Speaker 3: of update maps, it looked like that. That's pretty quickly. Actually, 256 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:55,920 Speaker 3: it ended up being a sort of large gray zone 257 00:14:56,240 --> 00:15:01,840 Speaker 3: of the gorilla attacks and potential still ongoing. It's been 258 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:03,960 Speaker 3: really murking hot tell what's going on there, But essentially 259 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:08,280 Speaker 3: there's a large area of uncontrolled but heavily contested territory 260 00:15:08,280 --> 00:15:12,120 Speaker 3: between Aleppo and the Euphrates River now and which the 261 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:13,920 Speaker 3: SDF and the SNA have been fighting over. 262 00:15:14,760 --> 00:15:14,880 Speaker 4: Like. 263 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:16,120 Speaker 3: One of the curious things for me is that the 264 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:19,360 Speaker 3: Turkish Air Force and literally did not get involved for 265 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:22,200 Speaker 3: a while, but after about a week they did, and 266 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:25,520 Speaker 3: they started hitting man Beach very very heavily. And at 267 00:15:25,520 --> 00:15:29,360 Speaker 3: that point, when the center of man Beach started being 268 00:15:29,400 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 3: contested and for over, the US stepped in. We don't 269 00:15:32,680 --> 00:15:34,080 Speaker 3: know the details of it, but there seems to have 270 00:15:34,120 --> 00:15:37,560 Speaker 3: been some kind of negotiation whereby the suggestion is that 271 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:41,600 Speaker 3: if the SDF fighters pulled back across the Euphrates, the 272 00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:45,320 Speaker 3: SDF would assure their protection from any further resorts. We 273 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:47,480 Speaker 3: don't know how true that is, and we know that 274 00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:52,480 Speaker 3: today further negotiations on this failed. But it's really hard 275 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:56,240 Speaker 3: to tell right now as we speak what's disinformation and 276 00:15:56,280 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 3: what's truth, because stuff's only coming out officially in ribs. 277 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:04,160 Speaker 2: Traps, yeah, and stuff's coming out unofficially often that it's 278 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:09,280 Speaker 2: just not true, yeah, every five minutes and getting blasted 279 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:12,960 Speaker 2: by maybe people who just don't understand or who do understand, 280 00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:15,920 Speaker 2: but have a certain agenda to push on social media, 281 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:19,640 Speaker 2: especially but on telegram too, and it can be really confusing, 282 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:20,720 Speaker 2: it's really frustrating. 283 00:16:20,960 --> 00:16:23,120 Speaker 3: Yeah. For instance, like just before we came on air, 284 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:25,360 Speaker 3: I saw a couple of videos being posted by pro 285 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:31,000 Speaker 3: Turkish accounts purportedly showing mass troop concentrations lined up against 286 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:35,040 Speaker 3: this border war waiting to invade. And I realized that 287 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:38,320 Speaker 3: they were from two thousand and nineteen, when Sarah Kane 288 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 3: and Tellerbayad were invaded, and they were just reposting material 289 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:47,960 Speaker 3: from then, you know, as disinformation on these movements and 290 00:16:48,040 --> 00:16:51,600 Speaker 3: whether in Ta's going to happen, what the negotiations between 291 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,720 Speaker 3: the US and Turkey turned out to be. And the 292 00:16:54,760 --> 00:16:57,280 Speaker 3: truth is like right now, we don't know exactly what's 293 00:16:57,320 --> 00:16:57,680 Speaker 3: going on. 294 00:16:58,320 --> 00:17:00,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, and like you probably won't and that's probably a 295 00:17:00,640 --> 00:17:04,200 Speaker 2: good thing. One other thing is that like the SDF 296 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:08,200 Speaker 2: tends to have much better operational security discipline than the 297 00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:12,240 Speaker 2: SNA does, so you won't see as much of like 298 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:16,800 Speaker 2: media with an SDF spin or people directly streaming. I mean, 299 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:19,680 Speaker 2: one thing the SDNA likes to do is a war 300 00:17:19,760 --> 00:17:22,600 Speaker 2: crime and then post it on Telegram and so like 301 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 2: it can be easy to only see that and be like, 302 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:27,240 Speaker 2: oh god, it's terrible, and it is terrible. Those things 303 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:29,919 Speaker 2: are horrific. But like, because you're not seeing when the 304 00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 2: SDF is making movements or making advances until a bit later, 305 00:17:33,800 --> 00:17:36,040 Speaker 2: until you get something from like an official press channel, 306 00:17:36,560 --> 00:17:38,600 Speaker 2: it can give the impression that the SNA is just 307 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:40,680 Speaker 2: romping around, which is not the case. 308 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:44,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, we saw this a few times when manbut is 309 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:47,879 Speaker 3: reported to being captured by the SNA and they posted 310 00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:51,080 Speaker 3: video of themselves in the middle of the city, and 311 00:17:51,119 --> 00:17:53,520 Speaker 3: then an hour later, the SDF posted a video from 312 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:55,640 Speaker 3: the center of the city of twenty or thirty dead 313 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:59,639 Speaker 3: SNA litting about the streets and then flying their own flag. 314 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:02,840 Speaker 3: So yeah, yeah, it's really it's really hard to tell. 315 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:05,920 Speaker 3: It's also really hard as like anyone who cares about 316 00:18:05,960 --> 00:18:09,600 Speaker 3: the region has been there, is reported on it. Anyone 317 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:13,520 Speaker 3: interested in the kind of politics that the Kurds are 318 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:15,920 Speaker 3: built up in the region and others I should says, 319 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:18,960 Speaker 3: you know, it's been a multithink project if you care 320 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:20,760 Speaker 3: about that. It's really hard not to be glued to 321 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:23,399 Speaker 3: social media to see what's going on, but it can 322 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:26,560 Speaker 3: be quite detrimental to morrow it can be quite an 323 00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:29,119 Speaker 3: active self harm to be like constantly checking on this 324 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:31,080 Speaker 3: because it's so mucky. Yeah, and as you say, like 325 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:34,639 Speaker 3: things can turn around within two hours of infer or 326 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:35,720 Speaker 3: distance for getting out there. 327 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:39,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, And I think it's it's a super important time 328 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:44,080 Speaker 2: to be looking at trusted sources and be considering if 329 00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:46,320 Speaker 2: you need to be on telegram that much, something I 330 00:18:46,400 --> 00:19:00,399 Speaker 2: have been considering this weekend. So let's talk about like 331 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:03,520 Speaker 2: right now, certainly the focus is on Kabani, right, but 332 00:19:03,880 --> 00:19:06,920 Speaker 2: there's also well, there's a lot of the self administration 333 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:10,639 Speaker 2: that could potentially be under threat if Turkey decides to 334 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:14,120 Speaker 2: go as hard as as it can against the self administration, 335 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:18,080 Speaker 2: against the existence of I guess any form of democratic 336 00:19:18,160 --> 00:19:20,960 Speaker 2: project in northern Easteria of attempts to kind of bring 337 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,199 Speaker 2: the whole thing under one government from Damascus. Can you 338 00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:28,040 Speaker 2: explain like what might happen, what people can do, and 339 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:30,600 Speaker 2: like we should talk about what's at stake as well, 340 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:33,639 Speaker 2: especially with the prisoner our whole, which maybe we can 341 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:35,960 Speaker 2: come to after those two things, because I think that's 342 00:19:35,960 --> 00:19:38,320 Speaker 2: a lot to ask you one question, but maybe people 343 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:40,119 Speaker 2: aren't familiar with our whole. We'll leave that one. But 344 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:43,040 Speaker 2: can you explain at first, like what could potentially happen 345 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:45,640 Speaker 2: if Turkey decides to go as hard as it wants 346 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:46,040 Speaker 2: to hear? 347 00:19:46,800 --> 00:19:48,159 Speaker 3: I mean, I think the best way to answer that 348 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:50,679 Speaker 3: question is to look at what's already happened. So in 349 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:56,200 Speaker 3: twenty eighteen and nineteen, they already captured three significant cities 350 00:19:56,520 --> 00:19:58,720 Speaker 3: and that were under control of the self administration to 351 00:19:58,760 --> 00:20:01,639 Speaker 3: the first and most famously was Afrin, which was in 352 00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:05,600 Speaker 3: the far northwest of the country, like just north of Villeppo, 353 00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:09,680 Speaker 3: sort of jutting out into Turkey. That was a majority 354 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 3: Kurdish city. I don't know exactly, does it with something 355 00:20:12,080 --> 00:20:14,440 Speaker 3: like eighty or ninety percent, which I think is higher 356 00:20:14,440 --> 00:20:18,320 Speaker 3: than any other city in northern Syria. And it was 357 00:20:18,400 --> 00:20:21,120 Speaker 3: also like it's seen the least fighting of pretty much 358 00:20:21,119 --> 00:20:23,560 Speaker 3: anywhere in Syria by that point. So the war had 359 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:27,560 Speaker 3: been going on for like what seven years, and Afin 360 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:31,480 Speaker 3: was pretty much untouched. So it was in a pretty 361 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:36,280 Speaker 3: good state. And Turkey and the SNA invaded just as 362 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,639 Speaker 3: the war against ISIS was winding down, and I mean, 363 00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,840 Speaker 3: it's become a hell on Earth. It's been almost completely depopulated. 364 00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:47,159 Speaker 3: I think it's less than ten percent now Kurdish ethnically, 365 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:49,560 Speaker 3: it has been ruled by a number of different groups. 366 00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:51,639 Speaker 3: We can say the SNA, but you know, different groups 367 00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:53,919 Speaker 3: within the SNA and have fought over it. At the 368 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:56,840 Speaker 3: HTS at times have had control over certain parts of 369 00:20:56,840 --> 00:20:59,600 Speaker 3: the area, and there's been a in fighting. There's been 370 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:07,800 Speaker 3: horrendous war crimes committed, great murder, thousands of disappeared people, 371 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:11,520 Speaker 3: and as you say, they really like to openly put 372 00:21:11,840 --> 00:21:15,920 Speaker 3: videos out of them committing this stuff. I mean, they're 373 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:19,400 Speaker 3: pretty shameless about it. There are some pretty disturbing videos 374 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:24,919 Speaker 3: that they're mutilating the bodies of fallen WIPJ soldiers, of 375 00:21:24,920 --> 00:21:28,520 Speaker 3: coming some re executions, of wiping out whole towns. It's 376 00:21:28,560 --> 00:21:33,879 Speaker 3: been awful. And the same thing happened again in twenty nineteen 377 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:38,639 Speaker 3: around in October when they captured as Sarah Khane and Talabayad. 378 00:21:39,119 --> 00:21:41,239 Speaker 3: And it's worth also pointing out that these were not 379 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:43,520 Speaker 3: Kurdish majority city surprise, and so I think that Sarah 380 00:21:43,600 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 3: Karney maybe was about fifty percent and Telebiads, which is 381 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:51,240 Speaker 3: kind of close to Kurbani, I'm pretty sure wasn't Kurlish 382 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:55,720 Speaker 3: majority city. B was organized under the self administration and 383 00:21:55,760 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 3: it was organized quite effectively, and they committed the same 384 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:03,280 Speaker 3: horrific crimes there. They are an anti Kurdish for so 385 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:06,679 Speaker 3: if we can say that they are racist, they do 386 00:22:06,920 --> 00:22:10,719 Speaker 3: have a stated goal of committing genocide against the Kurts. 387 00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:13,200 Speaker 3: That's not an exaggeration. There's something they openly say. But 388 00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:18,080 Speaker 3: they don't seem to care who they steal from, or 389 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,480 Speaker 3: who they rape or who they extort. Wherever they go, 390 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:26,159 Speaker 3: it's death and destruction. And it still is now, And 391 00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:28,439 Speaker 3: there's still something like a quarter of a million internally 392 00:22:28,520 --> 00:22:33,480 Speaker 3: displaced people from these areas in North Essyria hoping to 393 00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:36,040 Speaker 3: go back and now having to see the situation get 394 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:37,639 Speaker 3: even worse and not knowing if they ever well be 395 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:38,000 Speaker 3: able to. 396 00:22:38,600 --> 00:22:41,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think like you were talking about, like 397 00:22:42,560 --> 00:22:44,560 Speaker 2: we're seeing it right now in man Beach, right like 398 00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:47,960 Speaker 2: the SNA seems to lie. You be in controlled of 399 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:52,119 Speaker 2: the city, albeit with YPG fighters kind of boring and 400 00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:54,960 Speaker 2: I guess in a gorilla role, so it would seem 401 00:22:55,280 --> 00:22:57,280 Speaker 2: still fighting there. But where I believe we're on the 402 00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:00,560 Speaker 2: second day of a general strike in man Beach after 403 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:03,000 Speaker 2: less than a week of the SNA holding it because 404 00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:07,800 Speaker 2: of looting and executions and other war crimes. 405 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:10,919 Speaker 3: Yeah, I think this is like actually really good political 406 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,919 Speaker 3: education to see what's happening because what's been built up 407 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:17,520 Speaker 3: in the Northeast has been built up over decades. Right. 408 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:21,760 Speaker 3: They like to use this anology of the myosolium and 409 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:26,639 Speaker 3: the fruiting bodies of a mushroom. They appear to magically 410 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:30,760 Speaker 3: emerge from the earth in the autumn out of nowhere, 411 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:34,000 Speaker 3: but actually, you know, they've been brewing underground for years before, 412 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:37,480 Speaker 3: and they use this analogy because it took decades to 413 00:23:37,480 --> 00:23:40,359 Speaker 3: put in place these structures. That's why they were ready 414 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:43,480 Speaker 3: as soon as the regime the Acid region poured out 415 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:46,560 Speaker 3: and collapsed in the face of Isis in the early 416 00:23:46,600 --> 00:23:48,800 Speaker 3: stages of the war, they were ready to build up 417 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:52,919 Speaker 3: these structures. They already had self organized militias, They had 418 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:56,600 Speaker 3: the economy planned out that they set to work immediately, 419 00:23:56,720 --> 00:23:59,360 Speaker 3: and their SNA don't have any of that. They are 420 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:04,800 Speaker 3: a force of convenience. They're mostly sort of young men 421 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:07,880 Speaker 3: who were in groups before that were defeated in Syria 422 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:12,720 Speaker 3: like Isis, who are simply taking the opportunity to enrich themselves. 423 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:16,479 Speaker 3: And that's also very convenient for Turkey because they do 424 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:20,679 Speaker 3: the dirty work against the population of North Easypyria. So 425 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:24,040 Speaker 3: I think it is worth saying that that aspect of it, 426 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:26,840 Speaker 3: that preparation, that resilience, is something that also works in 427 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 3: favor in the event of the worst case of full 428 00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:36,080 Speaker 3: invasion of northern Assyria. I do think they are significantly 429 00:24:36,119 --> 00:24:38,520 Speaker 3: better prepared than they were in twenty eighteen and nineteen. 430 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:42,840 Speaker 3: And even if the worst happens, even if militarily it's defeated, 431 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:46,400 Speaker 3: that's not going to be the end of this project, right, 432 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:48,400 Speaker 3: It's not going to be the end of this emancipation. 433 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,840 Speaker 3: There's now an entire generation of young people in North 434 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:58,840 Speaker 3: Eastyria who have grown up entirely living amongst a liberated 435 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:02,880 Speaker 3: and emancipated region and people that's not something you can 436 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:06,680 Speaker 3: militarily defeat. So I you know, I'm not completely hopeless, 437 00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:10,360 Speaker 3: and obviously I'll be like devastated if the worst does 438 00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:12,679 Speaker 3: happen there, But like, I don't think it means the 439 00:25:12,800 --> 00:25:17,080 Speaker 3: end of this incredible political And it feels wrong to 440 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:19,639 Speaker 3: call it a project because it's not. It's really is 441 00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:24,160 Speaker 3: a revolution in the every possible meaning of the word, 442 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:26,720 Speaker 3: and it's deeply embedded. Now. 443 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:29,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think everyone I spoke to there, like 444 00:25:29,800 --> 00:25:32,720 Speaker 2: there's a deeply held conviction that they're not going back 445 00:25:33,280 --> 00:25:38,080 Speaker 2: some people who have seen like first hand the fascist 446 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:41,760 Speaker 2: violence of ISIS, and fascist is the right word. It's 447 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,000 Speaker 2: something maybe worse than fascism, but like certainly that like 448 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:47,800 Speaker 2: speaking to women in Chava about how they're not going 449 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:50,600 Speaker 2: back to the gendered violence of they experience for decades 450 00:25:51,040 --> 00:25:54,440 Speaker 2: to include ISIS, but by no means like only from ISIS. 451 00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:58,359 Speaker 2: And I guess that kind of brings us on to 452 00:25:58,920 --> 00:26:00,720 Speaker 2: I wanted to talk a little bit of the situation 453 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:03,920 Speaker 2: in the parts of Syria that are controlled by HCS 454 00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:07,400 Speaker 2: and and inso much as they really are controlled, controller 455 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 2: perhaps are on word like they haven't fully established their 456 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:13,720 Speaker 2: state project yet, but they're certainly moving towards that they've 457 00:26:13,760 --> 00:26:16,199 Speaker 2: sort of captured the institutions of the state rather than 458 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:20,800 Speaker 2: destroyed them. You'd spoken about, like there's this very I 459 00:26:20,800 --> 00:26:22,359 Speaker 2: don't know, I think, I guess maybe i'll use an 460 00:26:22,359 --> 00:26:24,760 Speaker 2: examples or I'm phrasing this question in a very meandering way. 461 00:26:25,000 --> 00:26:28,120 Speaker 2: I sort of ce ann clip where they're they're like, Oh, 462 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:30,240 Speaker 2: we found a guy who's liberally who's like in this 463 00:26:30,320 --> 00:26:32,320 Speaker 2: prison and he was stuck here, and then second part 464 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:34,240 Speaker 2: of this was not broadcast on CNN, as this person 465 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:36,360 Speaker 2: turns out to be like an Air Force lieutenant who 466 00:26:36,400 --> 00:26:39,960 Speaker 2: was in fact himself someone who tortured and killed civilians. 467 00:26:40,720 --> 00:26:45,119 Speaker 2: And like, there's this very liberatory, very excited messaging coming 468 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:48,840 Speaker 2: from media in the West. I guess some of which 469 00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:51,159 Speaker 2: is good, right, Like, it's good that the Assabe regime 470 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:54,399 Speaker 2: is good, Asab was fucking terrible and tortured and killed 471 00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,720 Speaker 2: hundreds of thousands of his own people. But that doesn't 472 00:26:57,720 --> 00:27:01,359 Speaker 2: mean that things are all affected Damascus. So do you 473 00:27:01,359 --> 00:27:03,480 Speaker 2: want to talk a little bit about like some of 474 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:06,440 Speaker 2: the worrying stuff we see in the last few days 475 00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:07,720 Speaker 2: from those areas. 476 00:27:08,240 --> 00:27:10,960 Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean this is something that I worry isn't 477 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,000 Speaker 3: being spoken about enough. I don't, as a non Syrian, 478 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:15,720 Speaker 3: don't want to say to people, you know, you shouldn't 479 00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:19,920 Speaker 3: be celebrating your own liberation, because people should absolutely should 480 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:23,280 Speaker 3: be and it's their right to be. And I'm, like it, 481 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:27,439 Speaker 3: extremely happy that this brutal dictator has gone. I mean, 482 00:27:27,600 --> 00:27:31,080 Speaker 3: it's it's hard to summarize quite how awful he was, 483 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:34,720 Speaker 3: and it's it's deeply refiltrating that he's probably not going 484 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:38,400 Speaker 3: to see justice, but it's also really hard to see 485 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:42,560 Speaker 3: stuff which is really reminiscent of like nineteen seventy nine Tehran, 486 00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:46,000 Speaker 3: two thousand and three Baghdad, of a sort of jubilation, 487 00:27:46,440 --> 00:27:48,760 Speaker 3: whilst at the same time there are videos of sort 488 00:27:48,760 --> 00:27:53,359 Speaker 3: of programs being carried out against minorities, minorities like the 489 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:57,359 Speaker 3: Allites who were in control, and you don't know if 490 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:00,720 Speaker 3: the person being executed in the street was a torture 491 00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:03,640 Speaker 3: an intelligence agent, and you don't know who they were. 492 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:06,239 Speaker 3: But like, this is happening, but you're also seeing like 493 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:11,199 Speaker 3: sallaphist groups raising their flag, you know, like hardline is 494 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:14,199 Speaker 3: mis raising their flag in places like the Takia and 495 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:18,600 Speaker 3: Tatoos that have significant minority populations. I am very I 496 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,200 Speaker 3: mean concerned, is in the right word, Like it's hard 497 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:24,960 Speaker 3: to feel that spirit of liberation when when you see 498 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:27,120 Speaker 3: not only these things happening, but that the people who 499 00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:31,840 Speaker 3: have captured these state institutions are admitted former members of 500 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:36,800 Speaker 3: al Qaida, and they are they are Jihad's hard line 501 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:40,959 Speaker 3: people that have now got a very evitably made themselves 502 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:44,840 Speaker 3: about to be moderate. But my guart feeling is that 503 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:47,320 Speaker 3: we're going to see something like May seventy nine Tehran, 504 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:50,400 Speaker 3: of a lot of talk of reconciliation, a lot of 505 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 3: talk of you know, the concerns of the Kurds or 506 00:28:54,400 --> 00:28:58,080 Speaker 3: working with the communists, but you know, mass executions and 507 00:28:58,120 --> 00:29:02,720 Speaker 3: oppression is not far around them corner. And I guess 508 00:29:02,920 --> 00:29:06,080 Speaker 3: when the jubilation dies down, my question is what's going 509 00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:09,840 Speaker 3: to happen when minorities do you demand their rights? Or 510 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:12,880 Speaker 3: women don't want to write a job in you know, 511 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:16,960 Speaker 3: inside the building's inst state institutions. And I'm finding it 512 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:21,000 Speaker 3: very hard to believe that these men who are professed 513 00:29:21,120 --> 00:29:25,680 Speaker 3: is themists are going to allow a moderate future to exist. 514 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:30,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's I don't know. Every day we get different information, right, 515 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:33,520 Speaker 2: but like, yeah, I don't know if concerned it's the 516 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:35,360 Speaker 2: right word either, I don't quite know what the word is. 517 00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:39,760 Speaker 2: But like I'm worried. I guess I'm worried that I'm 518 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:44,240 Speaker 2: especially worried when like, rather than what we saw in 519 00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:47,920 Speaker 2: the self administration was not like a continuation of institutions 520 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:50,680 Speaker 2: right when the Assad regime left in twenty eleven, in 521 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:54,600 Speaker 2: twenty twelve, and areas that the regime or isis have 522 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:56,600 Speaker 2: left since then, like it wasn't like Okay, we'll take 523 00:29:56,640 --> 00:29:59,480 Speaker 2: over these institutions and minister them differently, as we will 524 00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:03,800 Speaker 2: build democracy from the bottom up, not we'll just change 525 00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:06,520 Speaker 2: to people in charge versus what it seems like we're 526 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:09,240 Speaker 2: now seeing for Damascus is like, hey, can the police 527 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:11,480 Speaker 2: from the cyber regime police stay at work? Which is 528 00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:25,960 Speaker 2: concerning Talking of police, the last thing I wanted to 529 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:28,400 Speaker 2: address was that our whole camp. I've spoken about it 530 00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:30,080 Speaker 2: before on this show, and people can look back or 531 00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:32,560 Speaker 2: other episodes, but if you've not heard about it, can 532 00:30:32,560 --> 00:30:35,640 Speaker 2: you explain briefly what our whole is and then the 533 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:39,880 Speaker 2: massive risk that this Turkish backed invasion poses to our 534 00:30:39,920 --> 00:30:41,960 Speaker 2: whole and other camps. I guess the whole is not 535 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:43,320 Speaker 2: the only camp, just the biggest one. 536 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:47,400 Speaker 3: Yeah, our whole is a really important point to talk about. 537 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:52,360 Speaker 3: Our whole is a very large camp. It's hard to 538 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:54,719 Speaker 3: sum up what kind of camp it is because it's 539 00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:59,720 Speaker 3: so vast and had different sections. It's near Alhasseko, which 540 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:02,120 Speaker 3: is one of the largest cities in north East Syria. 541 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:10,360 Speaker 3: It mostly it mostly contains families who were members or 542 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:13,920 Speaker 3: were resident in the Islamic State when it collapsed. So 543 00:31:14,280 --> 00:31:17,760 Speaker 3: in the beginning of twenty nineteen ISIS was sort of 544 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:21,280 Speaker 3: squeezed into this little corner in the eastern side of 545 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:25,400 Speaker 3: Syria between the Euphrates and the Iraqi border, and when 546 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:28,800 Speaker 3: the state collapsed, for the caliphate collapse, a lot of 547 00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:31,000 Speaker 3: people had nowhere to go, and a lot of them 548 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:33,600 Speaker 3: were foreignly succoming from abroad. I'm going to say a lot. 549 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:37,320 Speaker 3: I mean like tens of thousands. There were something like 550 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:41,280 Speaker 3: twenty thousand families left within SUSA and that was like 551 00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:44,040 Speaker 3: the last parts of the Califate to hold out, and 552 00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:46,680 Speaker 3: they didn't have anywhere to go. And there were already 553 00:31:46,720 --> 00:31:51,080 Speaker 3: camps set up for IDPs for members of ISIS and 554 00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:56,000 Speaker 3: families in North Assyria, but alcohol was rapidly expanded to 555 00:31:56,040 --> 00:31:58,240 Speaker 3: take these on. So it's a sort of semi prison, 556 00:31:58,760 --> 00:32:02,680 Speaker 3: semi open camp that I think peaked at seventy five 557 00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:05,880 Speaker 3: thousand people, which it sounds like a lot on its own, 558 00:32:05,880 --> 00:32:08,800 Speaker 3: but when you consider that a large city in northern 559 00:32:08,840 --> 00:32:12,160 Speaker 3: Eastsyria is about one hundred and fifty thousand people, it 560 00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:15,280 Speaker 3: still is significant. I don't you probably have work of 561 00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:17,320 Speaker 3: recent because I mean, but I think the current population 562 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:18,400 Speaker 3: is about forty thousand. 563 00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:21,280 Speaker 2: Yeah, it shrunk definitely. I'm not sure what it is exactly. 564 00:32:21,720 --> 00:32:25,720 Speaker 3: The big problem that the self administration have had is multitude. 565 00:32:25,760 --> 00:32:27,640 Speaker 3: Really many of the people there are foreigners. Many of 566 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:31,400 Speaker 3: them don't have papers. Many of them come from countries 567 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:35,160 Speaker 3: that I either don't want them back or will almost 568 00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:38,240 Speaker 3: certainly execute them if they're sent back like a rock, 569 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:41,880 Speaker 3: which is against the policy of the abolition of death penalty. 570 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:47,280 Speaker 3: Inn Asyria. There are some in al whole, but mostly 571 00:32:47,440 --> 00:32:50,520 Speaker 3: other camps in the North and East Asyria. Former ISIS 572 00:32:50,520 --> 00:32:53,480 Speaker 3: members like Shamama Begam who come from countries like the 573 00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:56,320 Speaker 3: UK who simply won't take them back, and the uk 574 00:32:56,400 --> 00:32:59,120 Speaker 3: IS taken back some families that simply refuses to take 575 00:32:59,160 --> 00:33:02,280 Speaker 3: back their since you joined ISIS, says, you know, card 576 00:33:02,320 --> 00:33:06,720 Speaker 3: carrying members. So they've made a pretty massive effort to 577 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:10,040 Speaker 3: repatriate as many families as possible. They've made a big 578 00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:14,240 Speaker 3: effort to rehabilitate and deradicalize as many people as possible. 579 00:33:14,800 --> 00:33:18,120 Speaker 3: They have strung the camp massively, but they're still, yeah, 580 00:33:18,240 --> 00:33:21,479 Speaker 3: forty thousand or something left there. And these are like 581 00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:25,160 Speaker 3: really a lot of them are really radical, Like I think, 582 00:33:25,360 --> 00:33:27,040 Speaker 3: I don't know what an exact number is, but something 583 00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:28,880 Speaker 3: in the order of ten thousand of them are still 584 00:33:28,920 --> 00:33:31,560 Speaker 3: like professed being members of ices, and they have a 585 00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:33,800 Speaker 3: lot of children. And this was something that shocked me 586 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:37,920 Speaker 3: when I was at the end of the Caliphate and 587 00:33:37,960 --> 00:33:41,080 Speaker 3: back Goods and witnessed tens of thousands of people coming out, 588 00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:45,000 Speaker 3: and I could not have imagined how many children that were. 589 00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:48,400 Speaker 3: And this was like what five years ago now coming 590 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:50,440 Speaker 3: up to six years ago. So some of them who 591 00:33:50,480 --> 00:33:53,160 Speaker 3: were you know, seven, eight, nine years old are now 592 00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:56,360 Speaker 3: like heading towards their mid teens. They've spent their entire 593 00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:59,680 Speaker 3: lives being radicalized, and like what do you do with them? 594 00:34:00,080 --> 00:34:02,120 Speaker 3: And it's no I think there's no coincidence that in 595 00:34:02,480 --> 00:34:05,040 Speaker 3: previous Turkish attacks, because Turkey's been attacking the north and 596 00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:08,319 Speaker 3: East Assyria for the last five six years now through 597 00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:10,920 Speaker 3: the air, through national warfare, and a lot of their 598 00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:13,080 Speaker 3: attacks have focused on trying to break these people out. 599 00:34:13,200 --> 00:34:17,839 Speaker 3: They have bombed the entrances to prisons multiple times, They 600 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:21,680 Speaker 3: provided funding and arms and ammunition to groups that are 601 00:34:21,680 --> 00:34:23,879 Speaker 3: trying to break them out, and they provide a safe 602 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:27,160 Speaker 3: passage back to Turkey for those who have managed to escape. 603 00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:29,799 Speaker 3: So it's massively in their favor, but of course it's 604 00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:32,640 Speaker 3: a Pandora's box, because you know, if that does break over, 605 00:34:32,719 --> 00:34:35,680 Speaker 3: and if these people aren't repatriated or aren't you radicalized, 606 00:34:36,239 --> 00:34:39,120 Speaker 3: then that's a lot of people who have pretty much 607 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:45,560 Speaker 3: only known their whole lives a extremely radical fascist Islamist ideology. 608 00:34:45,840 --> 00:34:48,680 Speaker 3: And I don't think they're just going to give it up. Yeah, No, 609 00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:50,920 Speaker 3: that they're not going to join this moderate future Syria. 610 00:34:51,200 --> 00:34:54,800 Speaker 2: No, And like those people have probably experienced, like probably 611 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:57,920 Speaker 2: have terrible experiences within that camp, and that's not going 612 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:00,600 Speaker 2: to make that they don't tend to be moderated and 613 00:35:00,640 --> 00:35:04,200 Speaker 2: sort of pacifying experiences. And I'm sure that they will. 614 00:35:04,239 --> 00:35:06,879 Speaker 2: There'll be a lot of hate coming from there when 615 00:35:06,880 --> 00:35:09,560 Speaker 2: those people come out. And I don't want to lick 616 00:35:10,239 --> 00:35:12,600 Speaker 2: a portion blame too much, but we've had a long 617 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:14,160 Speaker 2: time to deal with this. The world has had a 618 00:35:14,200 --> 00:35:15,719 Speaker 2: long time to deal with I mean, I would. 619 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:22,080 Speaker 3: Happily blame this is entirely on the hands of the coalition. 620 00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:26,839 Speaker 3: Northern Assyria is a very poor places. It's deeply impoverished. 621 00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:31,400 Speaker 3: It's been kept in poverished by by sanctions by Turkey. 622 00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:34,680 Speaker 3: You know, the oil refining is that the industry, the 623 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:37,160 Speaker 3: economy has been smashed to pieces that they've held on 624 00:35:37,200 --> 00:35:40,080 Speaker 3: really well, and that like all credit to them, they 625 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:44,279 Speaker 3: have maintained this camp. They have tried to give these 626 00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:48,759 Speaker 3: people alive, but it's it's pretty awful conditions. Yeah, and 627 00:35:49,040 --> 00:35:51,640 Speaker 3: this could have been sold if the international community, if 628 00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:56,959 Speaker 3: the coalition, particularly United States, had helped with these repatriations, 629 00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:00,279 Speaker 3: so put political pressure on European comeses some particulars take 630 00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:04,120 Speaker 3: back their citizens and had just provided the funding, you know, 631 00:36:04,239 --> 00:36:07,839 Speaker 3: for they have provided funding. I'm not saying they haven't 632 00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:10,440 Speaker 3: ready much, but like it's a drop in the ocean 633 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:13,600 Speaker 3: compared to the Department Defense budget. You know, we're talking 634 00:36:13,719 --> 00:36:16,160 Speaker 3: a few tens of millions here and there as opposed 635 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:20,920 Speaker 3: to a concerted effort to deradicalize and repatriate people that 636 00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:24,440 Speaker 3: could pose a serious threat to Europe and the US. 637 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:28,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, and like you've got Britain doing the opposite of 638 00:36:28,080 --> 00:36:31,279 Speaker 2: what's helpful, which is fucking like removing people's passports right 639 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:35,439 Speaker 2: the naturalizing them, leaving these people stateless and like saying 640 00:36:35,440 --> 00:36:38,160 Speaker 2: it's not our problem, which is pathetic and I'm. 641 00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:41,120 Speaker 3: Very incredibly short sighted. Yeah. You know, I don't like 642 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:43,239 Speaker 3: using the word terror or terrorism because I think it's 643 00:36:43,239 --> 00:36:48,080 Speaker 3: they've become meaningless terms. But like ISIS did commit horrendous 644 00:36:48,080 --> 00:36:51,000 Speaker 3: acts of terror in Europe and the United States, and 645 00:36:51,520 --> 00:36:54,600 Speaker 3: these people, a lot of them, I'm sure would happily 646 00:36:54,640 --> 00:36:58,120 Speaker 3: do so given the opportunity. So I don't think that 647 00:36:57,760 --> 00:37:01,600 Speaker 3: the threat is like sufficiently understood in the West. 648 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:04,440 Speaker 2: Yeah, No, And like it's going to end up biting 649 00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:06,520 Speaker 2: them in the ass because they've you know, they've put 650 00:37:06,560 --> 00:37:09,560 Speaker 2: this off and put this off, and wouldn't spend the 651 00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:13,600 Speaker 2: money to like have justice related to go through a 652 00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:16,560 Speaker 2: system and to have a chance to plead their cases 653 00:37:16,640 --> 00:37:19,359 Speaker 2: or have a tribune or whatever it is. Instead, these 654 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:23,360 Speaker 2: people have just been essentially abandoned by most of the world. 655 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:26,440 Speaker 2: The self administration has been forced to take care of 656 00:37:26,480 --> 00:37:31,439 Speaker 2: the people who did horrific things right there. And yeah, 657 00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:35,719 Speaker 2: at some point, this population will continue to grow if 658 00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:38,359 Speaker 2: we don't keep removing people from it, and that's going 659 00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:40,600 Speaker 2: to be a problem for the whole world, even if 660 00:37:40,840 --> 00:37:42,920 Speaker 2: the whole world wants to pretend it's not happening right now. 661 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:46,719 Speaker 2: And it is just endlessly frustrating to see it not 662 00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:50,320 Speaker 2: even be covered, let alone kind of addressed in the West. 663 00:37:50,760 --> 00:37:53,560 Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that's a really important point when similar 664 00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:59,759 Speaker 3: atrustees have been carried out in Europe. We see international tribunals, 665 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:02,719 Speaker 3: we see the ICC and the ICJ step in. We 666 00:38:02,800 --> 00:38:06,440 Speaker 3: see arrests, we see prosecutions, you know, like Molossovich, like 667 00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:10,680 Speaker 3: the newer Bent trials, and Isis was a massive state. 668 00:38:10,840 --> 00:38:16,120 Speaker 3: It had some ten million inhabitants. It committed multiple genocides, 669 00:38:16,360 --> 00:38:17,880 Speaker 3: you know, and this is just you know, people in 670 00:38:17,920 --> 00:38:20,239 Speaker 3: the regions saying, oh, they're committing just these are like 671 00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:25,200 Speaker 3: Western highly studied, highly understood, accepted by Western states as 672 00:38:25,200 --> 00:38:29,680 Speaker 3: genocide against like the Uzds. They committed horrendous atrocities. They 673 00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:33,279 Speaker 3: posed an international threat and a massive regional threat, and 674 00:38:33,320 --> 00:38:36,920 Speaker 3: at the end of the caliphe as a territorial realm, 675 00:38:37,040 --> 00:38:41,000 Speaker 3: as a serious military presence. It just, yeah, it just 676 00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:43,040 Speaker 3: disappeared off the radar. And I think this is like 677 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:46,239 Speaker 3: a you know, a really is really shows the sort 678 00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:49,360 Speaker 3: of racist and clonal mindset behind this rules based international 679 00:38:49,480 --> 00:38:51,920 Speaker 3: order that the people who were their victims and who 680 00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:54,040 Speaker 3: have left to pick up the pieces after it's got 681 00:38:54,520 --> 00:38:58,680 Speaker 3: very little support or recognition. And they've been calling for 682 00:38:58,680 --> 00:39:01,720 Speaker 3: for tribunals for years and it's just fallen on deaf ears. 683 00:39:02,120 --> 00:39:06,040 Speaker 2: Yeah, and sadly idgy that changing given the incoming administration 684 00:39:06,120 --> 00:39:10,560 Speaker 2: in the United States. Like it's it's deeply concerning, deeply concerned. 685 00:39:10,560 --> 00:39:13,239 Speaker 2: Their own word, it's just fucked. I want to ask, like, 686 00:39:13,480 --> 00:39:17,040 Speaker 2: people I think want to be in solidarity with the revolution, 687 00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:20,480 Speaker 2: They want to help if they can, they want to support. 688 00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:24,000 Speaker 2: I did the fundraiser last night. Thank you to everyone 689 00:39:24,160 --> 00:39:27,040 Speaker 2: who gave their money and came. That was really nice. 690 00:39:27,080 --> 00:39:30,319 Speaker 2: But what can people do to you know, it's one 691 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:32,800 Speaker 2: thing to like be in solidarity or post or whatever, 692 00:39:32,840 --> 00:39:35,360 Speaker 2: but like, what concrete actions can they take to help. 693 00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:37,640 Speaker 3: This is This is a question that I gets asked 694 00:39:37,640 --> 00:39:42,800 Speaker 3: a lot. Yeah, I think and doing anything is helpful. Yeah, 695 00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:46,400 Speaker 3: it's also a question that's really hard to answer given 696 00:39:46,440 --> 00:39:49,680 Speaker 3: how things are just across the border in Palestine. You know, 697 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:53,600 Speaker 3: I personally find it hard to to engage and ask 698 00:39:53,640 --> 00:39:56,120 Speaker 3: for help and ask for solidarity when you know there's 699 00:39:56,160 --> 00:39:58,920 Speaker 3: a there's a genocide being committed next door. But we 700 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:01,920 Speaker 3: might be about to see the same thing happened in Syria, 701 00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:04,880 Speaker 3: and I do think we should be taking it seriously. 702 00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:09,239 Speaker 3: And yeah, anything from raising awareness to actually going there 703 00:40:09,719 --> 00:40:13,440 Speaker 3: and lending support, anything on that spectrum it's not just 704 00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:16,839 Speaker 3: like it's not just the material contribution that you can make. 705 00:40:16,920 --> 00:40:22,440 Speaker 3: It's the people that do really feel left doubt, they 706 00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:27,400 Speaker 3: feel betrayed, they feel let down by the international community, 707 00:40:27,600 --> 00:40:30,600 Speaker 3: by the rest of the world, and any act of 708 00:40:30,600 --> 00:40:33,359 Speaker 3: solidarity goes out incredibly well. Like the first year I 709 00:40:33,400 --> 00:40:36,080 Speaker 3: was there, I was basically useless because I didn't speak 710 00:40:36,080 --> 00:40:38,000 Speaker 3: the language, I didn't know my way around. I was 711 00:40:38,000 --> 00:40:40,680 Speaker 3: like a burden on society more or less. And for 712 00:40:40,719 --> 00:40:44,279 Speaker 3: people just like happy that you're there, you know, showing solidarity. 713 00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:47,800 Speaker 3: And it's not about being useful, it's about that act. 714 00:40:48,080 --> 00:40:50,080 Speaker 3: It's about more than that. That's what I'm trying to say. 715 00:40:50,280 --> 00:40:52,879 Speaker 3: And if you can show solidarity in any way you can, 716 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:56,680 Speaker 3: like this is incredibly incredibly important to find to do it. 717 00:40:57,160 --> 00:40:59,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think, like I don't know, if I go 718 00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:01,160 Speaker 2: back to when I move to the US, which was 719 00:41:01,520 --> 00:41:05,160 Speaker 2: two thousand and eight, George W. Bush as president, and 720 00:41:06,000 --> 00:41:07,799 Speaker 2: like I have my little free Palestine badge when I 721 00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:09,839 Speaker 2: got off the plane in my little kafir and like 722 00:41:10,160 --> 00:41:13,880 Speaker 2: was immediately sent to secondary inspection by the customs people 723 00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:17,759 Speaker 2: because like that was not really of course, there were 724 00:41:17,760 --> 00:41:19,920 Speaker 2: Palestinian people and people in solidarity with the people of 725 00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:21,680 Speaker 2: Palestine and the US in and they were for a 726 00:41:21,719 --> 00:41:24,040 Speaker 2: long time before. But like I would never have imagined 727 00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:26,480 Speaker 2: that I would see thousands of people in the streets 728 00:41:27,120 --> 00:41:30,919 Speaker 2: for the Palestinian cause, and like that the only thing 729 00:41:31,080 --> 00:41:33,960 Speaker 2: that has materially held back the genocide of the Palestinian 730 00:41:34,000 --> 00:41:37,120 Speaker 2: people has been the solidarity that they've experienced, And like 731 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:41,359 Speaker 2: that shows the power that people have. Though obviously it's 732 00:41:41,400 --> 00:41:44,120 Speaker 2: been able to do comparatively little in Israel still seems 733 00:41:44,120 --> 00:41:47,279 Speaker 2: to be killing bill children every day, but like it 734 00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:50,640 Speaker 2: shows that we can build solidarity really quickly and really meaningfully. 735 00:41:50,719 --> 00:41:53,759 Speaker 2: And like you don't have to go, but you can go. 736 00:41:54,080 --> 00:41:54,359 Speaker 4: You get. 737 00:41:54,440 --> 00:41:56,319 Speaker 2: It's much harder to get to Palestine than it is 738 00:41:56,360 --> 00:42:00,600 Speaker 2: to get to northern Newsyria. I went last year, And 739 00:42:01,080 --> 00:42:05,000 Speaker 2: I think people who are already organizing can bring that 740 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:07,280 Speaker 2: into their organizing too. These things don't have to compete 741 00:42:07,440 --> 00:42:09,880 Speaker 2: like they can be. There's a lot of solidarity to 742 00:42:09,880 --> 00:42:13,160 Speaker 2: go around. But I would say a lot of the 743 00:42:13,200 --> 00:42:17,799 Speaker 2: news we see, unfortunately from Turkey and that will unfortunately 744 00:42:18,040 --> 00:42:20,400 Speaker 2: give you information that the extremely biased when it comes 745 00:42:20,400 --> 00:42:23,800 Speaker 2: to Naughsi Siria. So being conscious of your media consumption 746 00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:24,640 Speaker 2: is very important. 747 00:42:24,880 --> 00:42:27,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, I think I would just add that to 748 00:42:27,160 --> 00:42:32,560 Speaker 3: say that solidarity with any group is a long term project, right, 749 00:42:33,440 --> 00:42:35,719 Speaker 3: You're not going to jump in and be able to 750 00:42:35,719 --> 00:42:38,359 Speaker 3: make a huge difference immediately. But also at the same time, 751 00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:42,319 Speaker 3: like if the worst happens, if Turkey invades Ullon and 752 00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:45,640 Speaker 3: as genocide and North Assyria, that isn't the end of it. 753 00:42:45,640 --> 00:42:50,600 Speaker 3: It's a massive international movement and there are practices from 754 00:42:50,640 --> 00:42:52,920 Speaker 3: it that are being put in place in things that 755 00:42:53,040 --> 00:42:54,920 Speaker 3: actually don't even have anything to do with the curves 756 00:42:54,920 --> 00:42:57,719 Speaker 3: of the nation. And there are always organizing, there are 757 00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:02,640 Speaker 3: matters that they use as personality analysis, there's criticism and 758 00:43:02,680 --> 00:43:05,600 Speaker 3: self criticism that there's a lot of that that goes 759 00:43:05,680 --> 00:43:09,320 Speaker 3: far beyond a single geographic region, and I think engaging 760 00:43:09,320 --> 00:43:11,600 Speaker 3: with that can and I've seen with my own I 761 00:43:11,680 --> 00:43:13,520 Speaker 3: since I've been back, like there's a lot of groups 762 00:43:13,640 --> 00:43:18,760 Speaker 3: around the UK that use techniques for self organization within 763 00:43:19,320 --> 00:43:25,040 Speaker 3: land rights movement, within worker struggle, within ant Cutts campaigning, 764 00:43:25,520 --> 00:43:28,400 Speaker 3: and the's got nothing to do with with Rajava, but 765 00:43:28,680 --> 00:43:32,680 Speaker 3: they have seen that through solidarity with Rajava and Kurdistan 766 00:43:33,239 --> 00:43:36,000 Speaker 3: that there are ways that can improve their own practice 767 00:43:36,040 --> 00:43:37,160 Speaker 3: and their own actions. 768 00:43:37,400 --> 00:43:39,799 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's really important too, and those are 769 00:43:39,840 --> 00:43:41,920 Speaker 2: things maybe we'll cover in the future. And there are 770 00:43:41,960 --> 00:43:45,719 Speaker 2: plenty of good resources online. Are there any resources you'd 771 00:43:45,760 --> 00:43:48,279 Speaker 2: like to plug or like personal social media's things? Do 772 00:43:48,320 --> 00:43:50,880 Speaker 2: you think people could follow to get good information on 773 00:43:50,920 --> 00:43:51,560 Speaker 2: what's happening. 774 00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:56,200 Speaker 3: Definitely the ri C, that's the Java Information Center. They 775 00:43:56,360 --> 00:43:59,360 Speaker 3: are probably the best source on the ground in Java, 776 00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:04,560 Speaker 3: and they are a collective of journalists, a mixture of 777 00:44:04,600 --> 00:44:08,080 Speaker 3: locals and internationalists who've been working there for six years now, 778 00:44:08,320 --> 00:44:11,000 Speaker 3: so they're a rejar. But I see on various social 779 00:44:11,040 --> 00:44:15,719 Speaker 3: media platforms you can follow me as at lapinesque la 780 00:44:15,880 --> 00:44:19,160 Speaker 3: p I n E, s q u E. I'm also 781 00:44:19,239 --> 00:44:22,399 Speaker 3: posting about it, although I'm not there anymore. I'm using 782 00:44:22,480 --> 00:44:26,359 Speaker 3: updates from friends, people I know there and my take 783 00:44:26,440 --> 00:44:30,000 Speaker 3: on the situation based on my experiences being there from 784 00:44:30,239 --> 00:44:30,960 Speaker 3: five years. 785 00:44:31,160 --> 00:44:34,239 Speaker 2: Yeah, I think good to follow if you can. Thank 786 00:44:34,280 --> 00:44:36,279 Speaker 2: you very much, Danny. What we're going to do now 787 00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:38,680 Speaker 2: is I got some voice notes from some friends who 788 00:44:38,719 --> 00:44:41,239 Speaker 2: are at the front with a technosina and assist, which 789 00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:44,880 Speaker 2: means anarchist struggle in Kurdish. They're a group within the 790 00:44:45,520 --> 00:44:50,240 Speaker 2: SDF that is an anarchist group that they're fighting, and 791 00:44:50,520 --> 00:44:52,719 Speaker 2: in this case as to doing frontline medical support on 792 00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:55,680 Speaker 2: behalf of the self administration, on behalf of the revolution. 793 00:44:56,280 --> 00:45:00,200 Speaker 2: They sent me some notes this morning, Monday today their 794 00:45:00,200 --> 00:45:03,399 Speaker 2: positions on the front line. So obviously those notes will 795 00:45:03,440 --> 00:45:05,560 Speaker 2: be a little bit they'll be like twenty four hours 796 00:45:05,640 --> 00:45:07,600 Speaker 2: old by the time you hear them. But I still 797 00:45:07,600 --> 00:45:09,640 Speaker 2: think it's very important to hear from people who are there. 798 00:45:09,680 --> 00:45:12,680 Speaker 2: One we can not from, like someone who's supposed to be 799 00:45:12,680 --> 00:45:15,040 Speaker 2: an expert but hasn't set for in Syria in fifteen 800 00:45:15,120 --> 00:45:17,879 Speaker 2: years and hasn't really talked to anyone who's Syrian either. 801 00:45:18,239 --> 00:45:21,000 Speaker 2: So we'll drop those in after the advertising break here, 802 00:45:21,200 --> 00:45:23,760 Speaker 2: and with that I will say thank you very much, Danny, 803 00:45:24,000 --> 00:45:25,960 Speaker 2: thanks for giving us your time, and he'll be really 804 00:45:25,960 --> 00:45:27,200 Speaker 2: appreciate all you're insight today. 805 00:45:27,200 --> 00:45:42,920 Speaker 5: Thanks very much, James, talking from the Provisional branch after divisions. 806 00:45:43,520 --> 00:45:47,000 Speaker 6: We want to share the situation here. 807 00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:55,480 Speaker 4: Because you're probably now the regime has fun. You've left 808 00:45:55,520 --> 00:46:02,600 Speaker 4: the country after a big offensive that started from Italy 809 00:46:03,400 --> 00:46:07,680 Speaker 4: that took over quite soon, quite fast, the city of 810 00:46:07,719 --> 00:46:09,560 Speaker 4: Aliba and continued moving. 811 00:46:11,800 --> 00:46:14,759 Speaker 6: We wanted to explain how is the situation right now 812 00:46:14,800 --> 00:46:17,239 Speaker 6: on the ground and also give some insight on the. 813 00:46:17,200 --> 00:46:20,640 Speaker 4: Situation of North in Syria and what the media is 814 00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:25,279 Speaker 4: not covering of the different events and situations that are 815 00:46:25,560 --> 00:46:30,200 Speaker 4: unknowing here. The main thing to remark that this can 816 00:46:30,239 --> 00:46:34,080 Speaker 4: be a bit of a confusion confusion interview for those 817 00:46:34,120 --> 00:46:38,320 Speaker 4: that are maybe not familiar with the unknowing situation. To 818 00:46:38,440 --> 00:46:42,080 Speaker 4: give a short context, we can mention that there are 819 00:46:42,800 --> 00:46:48,239 Speaker 4: right now two main conflicts ongoing military conflicts. 820 00:46:48,640 --> 00:46:51,440 Speaker 6: One is when you reported they're not so much. 821 00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:56,120 Speaker 4: We are talking about the war that HDRS or the 822 00:46:56,200 --> 00:47:00,160 Speaker 4: offensive that HDS launched against the CERN or a part me. 823 00:47:00,560 --> 00:47:05,680 Speaker 4: And the other is the offensive that the SMA and 824 00:47:06,040 --> 00:47:10,160 Speaker 4: Turkish proxy forces the writin or the name of that 825 00:47:10,280 --> 00:47:14,040 Speaker 4: Syrian National Army, but that they are trained, paid and 826 00:47:14,239 --> 00:47:18,520 Speaker 4: supported by the Turkish state. The offensive they have been 827 00:47:18,640 --> 00:47:24,200 Speaker 4: launching against Northern Asyria and the Democratic Administration of North 828 00:47:24,239 --> 00:47:29,799 Speaker 4: Asyria is the area also known sometimes as Forgiver that 829 00:47:30,040 --> 00:47:32,160 Speaker 4: is started as the. 830 00:47:32,160 --> 00:47:35,640 Speaker 6: Court Desilberation movement leaving the world. 831 00:47:35,400 --> 00:47:40,399 Speaker 4: Of Islamic state and establishing this autonomy's administration. So let's 832 00:47:40,480 --> 00:47:44,600 Speaker 4: go shoot it to the first conflict. This offensive of 833 00:47:45,640 --> 00:47:50,080 Speaker 4: its theater of the faith of Reaction, but it's Islamis 834 00:47:50,160 --> 00:47:52,239 Speaker 4: group direct heritage of. 835 00:47:52,480 --> 00:47:55,319 Speaker 6: An austral that was the Syrian. 836 00:47:55,000 --> 00:47:59,320 Speaker 4: Branch of the GUIDO that has been governing having somewhat 837 00:47:59,680 --> 00:48:02,240 Speaker 4: govern and the strict region in the Region of Europe 838 00:48:02,760 --> 00:48:06,879 Speaker 4: in the north west of Syria and was under heavisage 839 00:48:07,080 --> 00:48:11,040 Speaker 4: from the region. Process of Syria Army and the twenty 840 00:48:11,080 --> 00:48:14,120 Speaker 4: seventh of Nanda Bay count is the offensive. 841 00:48:13,760 --> 00:48:16,600 Speaker 6: That led to the collapse of the region. 842 00:48:17,320 --> 00:48:21,400 Speaker 4: We could reflect about the regions now on one side, 843 00:48:21,719 --> 00:48:24,719 Speaker 4: the Syria appeny was exhausted the two years of war 844 00:48:24,840 --> 00:48:29,560 Speaker 4: here in Senia, but especially their main allies and supporters 845 00:48:29,880 --> 00:48:32,200 Speaker 4: were also in that situation. 846 00:48:32,480 --> 00:48:34,920 Speaker 6: We were talking mostly about Russia and Iran. 847 00:48:35,560 --> 00:48:38,000 Speaker 4: As we currently know, Russia has been in change in 848 00:48:38,040 --> 00:48:43,040 Speaker 4: a war in Ukraine for three years almost Iran recently 849 00:48:43,719 --> 00:48:49,760 Speaker 4: had been also engaged in supporting the militias in the 850 00:48:49,760 --> 00:48:56,400 Speaker 4: conflict against Israel after the virtual occupation that Israel started 851 00:48:56,440 --> 00:49:02,680 Speaker 4: on another year ago. These two conflicts create a situation 852 00:49:02,800 --> 00:49:03,560 Speaker 4: that both. 853 00:49:03,400 --> 00:49:08,040 Speaker 6: Partners that Russian Iran were not able to support the 854 00:49:08,760 --> 00:49:10,280 Speaker 6: army as they within the past. 855 00:49:11,200 --> 00:49:15,399 Speaker 4: And this led also to the collapse of the front 856 00:49:15,440 --> 00:49:20,799 Speaker 4: lands of the Serra Party, allowing the offensive of HDS 857 00:49:21,120 --> 00:49:24,840 Speaker 4: to overrun very fast the defenses in the city of 858 00:49:24,880 --> 00:49:28,480 Speaker 4: Alipo and also take in control of the city of Hamma. 859 00:49:29,760 --> 00:49:34,520 Speaker 4: These sparked also all the groups that also opposed the 860 00:49:34,520 --> 00:49:37,680 Speaker 4: region for a long time to start also the in 861 00:49:37,800 --> 00:49:40,800 Speaker 4: action and in southern Syria and the regions of the 862 00:49:41,000 --> 00:49:49,320 Speaker 4: Sula and and Couneta, there was also an autonomous military 863 00:49:49,360 --> 00:49:53,800 Speaker 4: operation room that started coordinated insurgeons and the vision. 864 00:49:54,320 --> 00:49:57,040 Speaker 6: These sparked the collapse of the region. 865 00:49:57,480 --> 00:50:00,120 Speaker 4: A lot of soldiers were defect in their positions and 866 00:50:00,239 --> 00:50:05,640 Speaker 4: finally the different military groups leaving the offensive. 867 00:50:05,680 --> 00:50:06,719 Speaker 6: To the mass Post. 868 00:50:07,040 --> 00:50:13,280 Speaker 4: This was an offensive that was really not very builded 869 00:50:13,560 --> 00:50:16,320 Speaker 4: in the sense of a lot of the similar party 870 00:50:16,400 --> 00:50:17,120 Speaker 4: souldiers who were. 871 00:50:17,200 --> 00:50:20,000 Speaker 6: Just leaving their positions and running away. 872 00:50:20,880 --> 00:50:25,120 Speaker 4: And offensive was able to do advance very fast, very easily. 873 00:50:26,280 --> 00:50:26,800 Speaker 6: Right now. 874 00:50:27,800 --> 00:50:32,520 Speaker 4: The offensive led to the transition that we are seeing 875 00:50:32,520 --> 00:50:36,600 Speaker 4: in the mass Post, where the leader of HDS. 876 00:50:36,840 --> 00:50:41,080 Speaker 6: Had been doing really. 877 00:50:39,920 --> 00:50:44,960 Speaker 4: Public speeches and the carrying the trium of the revolution, 878 00:50:45,840 --> 00:50:47,920 Speaker 4: trying to harvest. 879 00:50:49,200 --> 00:50:54,839 Speaker 6: And the revolutionary spirit of the twenty eleven for their. 880 00:50:54,000 --> 00:51:02,120 Speaker 4: Own benefit, and they imposed or composed a traditional government 881 00:51:02,560 --> 00:51:06,720 Speaker 4: that is from exclusively by like members connected to aligned 882 00:51:06,840 --> 00:51:11,320 Speaker 4: to HDS. Could be good to discuss more about HDS, 883 00:51:11,360 --> 00:51:13,160 Speaker 4: but maybe it's not the focus of. 884 00:51:13,120 --> 00:51:18,000 Speaker 6: Our interview right now. Just mentioned that the authoritarian. 885 00:51:17,840 --> 00:51:23,560 Speaker 4: Government in Egypt has been also really criticized by local 886 00:51:23,640 --> 00:51:29,120 Speaker 4: population organizing protest against it and right now running this 887 00:51:29,480 --> 00:51:34,520 Speaker 4: interim government, they are already making proposals for like a 888 00:51:34,840 --> 00:51:38,560 Speaker 4: morality police, is amy courts. 889 00:51:39,120 --> 00:51:44,080 Speaker 6: So I don't know how much this comparison has been 890 00:51:44,120 --> 00:51:48,560 Speaker 6: really shared. That clearly what we saw in Afhanistan with Taliban. 891 00:51:48,239 --> 00:51:52,120 Speaker 4: Taking over the state destructors is probably a good guide 892 00:51:52,360 --> 00:51:56,720 Speaker 4: to understand what could be happening in Syria if HBO 893 00:51:56,840 --> 00:52:00,400 Speaker 4: states control of the the state as it's. 894 00:52:00,080 --> 00:52:00,720 Speaker 6: To be happening. 895 00:52:01,680 --> 00:52:04,080 Speaker 4: So this is one of the confident going that is 896 00:52:04,080 --> 00:52:07,840 Speaker 4: widely reported. The only one maybe is not so much reported. 897 00:52:08,320 --> 00:52:12,439 Speaker 4: We see how the Turkish has been for a long 898 00:52:12,480 --> 00:52:15,239 Speaker 4: time to bested, has been for a long time and 899 00:52:15,560 --> 00:52:22,280 Speaker 4: attacking the vision of that Norway Syria, especially the Cooltish areas, and. 900 00:52:22,160 --> 00:52:25,160 Speaker 6: This is connected not to their war against the. 901 00:52:25,160 --> 00:52:28,200 Speaker 4: Condliberation movement that has been known for more than forty 902 00:52:28,320 --> 00:52:32,360 Speaker 4: years and the last chapter of US started in coordination 903 00:52:32,520 --> 00:52:37,960 Speaker 4: with this offensive of Hds where the Appropi forces and 904 00:52:38,480 --> 00:52:43,319 Speaker 4: started to attack, mainly the region of Takifact that was 905 00:52:43,800 --> 00:52:47,680 Speaker 4: an area where a lot of the refugees from a 906 00:52:47,760 --> 00:52:51,480 Speaker 4: friend were living. A frin was a region that was 907 00:52:51,520 --> 00:52:55,279 Speaker 4: a ray occupied by thirty in twenty eighteen and a 908 00:52:55,320 --> 00:52:57,719 Speaker 4: lot of the people from the city was displaced and 909 00:52:57,840 --> 00:52:59,240 Speaker 4: living in refuge. 910 00:52:58,840 --> 00:53:01,759 Speaker 6: Avants in the in the region of. 911 00:53:01,760 --> 00:53:07,160 Speaker 4: Hinda and the civil Tetrifact, and these Turkish pecty forces 912 00:53:07,239 --> 00:53:12,719 Speaker 4: attacked and conquered that vision, forcing all these people that 913 00:53:12,800 --> 00:53:16,759 Speaker 4: already had to leave their homes more than five years 914 00:53:16,800 --> 00:53:23,040 Speaker 4: ago two thousand eighteen. Yeah, so forcing them to flee 915 00:53:23,160 --> 00:53:26,759 Speaker 4: once again. A lot of these people was trapped in 916 00:53:26,840 --> 00:53:34,600 Speaker 4: a caroline that suffered brutal grades attacks, kidnapping, ransoms like 917 00:53:35,880 --> 00:53:38,840 Speaker 4: it has been like a really terrible experience for a 918 00:53:38,880 --> 00:53:43,360 Speaker 4: lot of people that was trying to flee the offensive 919 00:53:43,440 --> 00:53:47,160 Speaker 4: of the Turkish practy forces. And most of them are 920 00:53:47,200 --> 00:53:50,480 Speaker 4: now arriving to do bad. Time to write to the 921 00:53:50,600 --> 00:53:53,760 Speaker 4: visions of the self administration when where they are founding 922 00:53:54,480 --> 00:53:58,680 Speaker 4: and they can find shelter and for those willing to 923 00:53:58,840 --> 00:54:02,040 Speaker 4: help with the mention that Hava Shirt is the humanitary 924 00:54:02,120 --> 00:54:05,759 Speaker 4: organization one of the biggest humanitarior organizations working in other 925 00:54:05,960 --> 00:54:10,120 Speaker 4: Syria and has been providing tans and fought and blankage 926 00:54:10,200 --> 00:54:13,480 Speaker 4: and everything they can to support all these people that 927 00:54:13,640 --> 00:54:15,200 Speaker 4: is arriving on these areas. 928 00:54:15,840 --> 00:54:18,680 Speaker 6: So those willing to support. 929 00:54:18,280 --> 00:54:22,239 Speaker 4: Economically and the humanical and crisis that we are experiencing, 930 00:54:22,719 --> 00:54:24,160 Speaker 4: they can easily. 931 00:54:24,320 --> 00:54:27,640 Speaker 6: Find the right side and the Banga Kama. 932 00:54:27,480 --> 00:54:32,000 Speaker 4: Favasa to donate to them to support all these people 933 00:54:32,040 --> 00:54:37,040 Speaker 4: that went again, those in their homes that the offensive 934 00:54:37,160 --> 00:54:41,560 Speaker 4: didn't stop on An Shaffa and the SMA continued their 935 00:54:41,560 --> 00:54:45,400 Speaker 4: attacks and took over the city of man Ma gerally 936 00:54:45,560 --> 00:54:50,560 Speaker 4: right now and this was a really heavy classis that 937 00:54:50,680 --> 00:54:55,479 Speaker 4: it was a really serious military conflict that has been 938 00:54:56,320 --> 00:54:59,640 Speaker 4: totally supported by Turkish artillery. 939 00:54:59,239 --> 00:55:01,839 Speaker 6: And air force. We are talking about. 940 00:55:01,719 --> 00:55:06,840 Speaker 4: Drones sitting different positions and even airplanes. 941 00:55:06,600 --> 00:55:09,840 Speaker 6: That of course nature air force have been. 942 00:55:09,800 --> 00:55:13,960 Speaker 4: Bombing positions of the Cerum democratic forces, allowing. 943 00:55:13,600 --> 00:55:18,439 Speaker 6: These different is on groups that part of. 944 00:55:18,360 --> 00:55:22,400 Speaker 4: This coalition of the SMA, these poklish pactic forces to 945 00:55:22,600 --> 00:55:26,320 Speaker 4: control of the city. At the moment, there is already 946 00:55:27,360 --> 00:55:33,720 Speaker 4: several days that manage this city have been organizing protests 947 00:55:33,719 --> 00:55:36,880 Speaker 4: and even in general strike that started yesterday and in 948 00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:42,120 Speaker 4: the occupation because these groups that occupy the city are 949 00:55:42,320 --> 00:55:47,760 Speaker 4: looting and even killing local populations in a really terrible situation. 950 00:55:47,880 --> 00:55:51,440 Speaker 4: Of this experience in the local people living in Manage, 951 00:55:52,120 --> 00:55:57,600 Speaker 4: and they are willing to continue. They have been threatening 952 00:55:57,800 --> 00:56:00,440 Speaker 4: the city of Colony, the symbol of resists terms of 953 00:56:00,520 --> 00:56:05,400 Speaker 4: the visual revolution against the designed state and the straits 954 00:56:05,480 --> 00:56:08,120 Speaker 4: and the city are not just the bombings of the 955 00:56:08,280 --> 00:56:12,319 Speaker 4: top air force and artillery, but also a lot of 956 00:56:12,480 --> 00:56:18,040 Speaker 4: military personal of the Turkish Prepsy forces gathering on the 957 00:56:18,080 --> 00:56:22,360 Speaker 4: bridge that connects the divisions. 958 00:56:21,480 --> 00:56:25,560 Speaker 6: Of man Beach and Commanding and all across the air 959 00:56:25,640 --> 00:56:26,279 Speaker 6: for this river. 960 00:56:27,600 --> 00:56:32,520 Speaker 4: So this war is not so reported that it's been 961 00:56:33,120 --> 00:56:38,680 Speaker 4: really both times against the self administration in Northeastyria. We 962 00:56:38,760 --> 00:56:42,600 Speaker 4: are trying to report and update about the situation. We 963 00:56:42,760 --> 00:56:47,480 Speaker 4: also published two studments to to call out attention for 964 00:56:48,760 --> 00:56:53,840 Speaker 4: comrade what is ongoing here and maybe also. 965 00:56:53,680 --> 00:56:57,000 Speaker 6: Talk a bit about the work that we have been 966 00:56:57,040 --> 00:56:59,080 Speaker 6: doing on the ground. 967 00:57:00,120 --> 00:57:04,240 Speaker 4: We need to remark that this offensive of the Mambage 968 00:57:04,280 --> 00:57:08,240 Speaker 4: and now districts and Colony have not been the only adults. 969 00:57:07,840 --> 00:57:10,279 Speaker 6: Of the Turkish army and the party forces and. 970 00:57:10,360 --> 00:57:15,680 Speaker 4: The build all around the Street that they occupied in 971 00:57:15,840 --> 00:57:20,360 Speaker 4: twenty eighteen and two thousand nineteen. In the areas around 972 00:57:20,400 --> 00:57:23,960 Speaker 4: the city of Sylvania and Anisa next to the border 973 00:57:24,120 --> 00:57:28,800 Speaker 4: with Tricky also host a lot of islam As groups 974 00:57:28,840 --> 00:57:32,800 Speaker 4: that are part of this Turkish Party coalition and they 975 00:57:32,880 --> 00:57:37,920 Speaker 4: have been intensively bounding the areas and their surroundings and 976 00:57:38,240 --> 00:57:45,200 Speaker 4: there have been quiet widespread forms. This ze group togethering 977 00:57:45,240 --> 00:57:50,560 Speaker 4: forces to continue their results on the self administration of 978 00:57:50,720 --> 00:57:55,720 Speaker 4: Nordestria and the ward of the Syrian Democratic Forces. We 979 00:57:55,960 --> 00:57:59,560 Speaker 4: from the Casinosis, we have been working in the medical capacity, 980 00:57:59,680 --> 00:58:03,120 Speaker 4: provide i think materials for the medical points in the 981 00:58:03,360 --> 00:58:07,200 Speaker 4: in the fundance and being present in the foundlands together 982 00:58:07,280 --> 00:58:11,360 Speaker 4: with the Syrian Democratic Forces in case that a new 983 00:58:11,440 --> 00:58:16,600 Speaker 4: invasion and is happening right now, the bombings are hitting. 984 00:58:17,200 --> 00:58:20,600 Speaker 6: Different areas and it has been really intense in the 985 00:58:20,640 --> 00:58:21,320 Speaker 6: last days. 986 00:58:21,880 --> 00:58:25,840 Speaker 4: The Syrian Democratic Forces are in maximilar and especially there 987 00:58:25,880 --> 00:58:31,400 Speaker 4: is an important call in solidarity with the city of Covany, 988 00:58:31,920 --> 00:58:35,400 Speaker 4: a symbol of resistance that is small ones again under threat. 989 00:58:36,600 --> 00:58:41,120 Speaker 4: We have been seen as demonstrations are around the world 990 00:58:41,200 --> 00:58:46,160 Speaker 4: in solebarity with like the revolutions here and this has 991 00:58:46,200 --> 00:58:52,320 Speaker 4: been also bringing lots motivation to continue the resistance underground. 992 00:58:52,720 --> 00:58:57,800 Speaker 4: Right now, these situations of the instability and political tradition 993 00:58:58,520 --> 00:59:02,520 Speaker 4: is still plain in ways that are difficult to predict. 994 00:59:03,080 --> 00:59:07,600 Speaker 6: We can see how the self administration has been sending political. 995 00:59:07,120 --> 00:59:11,080 Speaker 4: Realizations and to the masters to never shad with this 996 00:59:11,240 --> 00:59:16,600 Speaker 4: new provisional government with the attempt to reach autonomy for 997 00:59:16,840 --> 00:59:21,160 Speaker 4: the region that connects with the ideas of democratic conferenism, 998 00:59:22,080 --> 00:59:28,040 Speaker 4: the DEAs of democratic confulism. Don't expect to run a 999 00:59:28,160 --> 00:59:29,760 Speaker 4: state institutions. 1000 00:59:29,120 --> 00:59:31,840 Speaker 6: Because we don't want to live. 1001 00:59:31,960 --> 00:59:35,640 Speaker 4: In a society that is ruled by a state, and 1002 00:59:36,400 --> 00:59:42,800 Speaker 4: are calling for tums economy in a lot of governments 1003 00:59:43,280 --> 00:59:47,640 Speaker 4: where that the different communities can live together, colleges together, 1004 00:59:48,320 --> 00:59:53,080 Speaker 4: administering their social forms together, and also with their defense. 1005 00:59:53,880 --> 00:59:57,040 Speaker 4: We'll see how the democratic forces is at a military 1006 00:59:57,040 --> 01:00:01,960 Speaker 4: coalition of different local military forces that it's blade on 1007 01:00:02,000 --> 01:00:05,520 Speaker 4: the principles of self defense. Maybe to give a bit 1008 01:00:05,560 --> 01:00:08,960 Speaker 4: of context also of what we have been doing here 1009 01:00:09,120 --> 01:00:13,040 Speaker 4: for several years that our organization has been operating in 1010 01:00:13,200 --> 01:00:14,280 Speaker 4: another Syria. 1011 01:00:15,720 --> 01:00:18,080 Speaker 6: As anarchists. We can hear in. 1012 01:00:18,240 --> 01:00:23,680 Speaker 4: Solidarity international society with this revolution because their political values. 1013 01:00:23,440 --> 01:00:29,120 Speaker 6: And their political project is really close to our ideas. 1014 01:00:29,200 --> 01:00:35,120 Speaker 4: We see big similarities with the ideas of libertarian socialism 1015 01:00:35,240 --> 01:00:39,000 Speaker 4: and social ecology and thinkers and model Bootin have been 1016 01:00:39,040 --> 01:00:43,200 Speaker 4: a big inspiration for unvers In, leader of the Court 1017 01:00:43,240 --> 01:00:49,920 Speaker 4: Desirition movement that has been proposing this political friend called 1018 01:00:50,240 --> 01:00:55,320 Speaker 4: democratic confromism, where especially with the principles of one liberation, 1019 01:00:55,640 --> 01:01:02,280 Speaker 4: social ecology and studios andocracy has been political campus of 1020 01:01:02,360 --> 01:01:03,560 Speaker 4: the revolution here. 1021 01:01:04,600 --> 01:01:07,000 Speaker 6: Building autonomy in the. 1022 01:01:06,960 --> 01:01:12,520 Speaker 4: Different regions has been also a very important element to 1023 01:01:12,680 --> 01:01:17,680 Speaker 4: develop the project, and especially during the war and the 1024 01:01:17,760 --> 01:01:21,800 Speaker 4: Islamic State, as soon as the different territories were liberated, 1025 01:01:22,400 --> 01:01:26,920 Speaker 4: there was a big emphasis on creating local councils civilian 1026 01:01:27,120 --> 01:01:30,320 Speaker 4: and military councils both that. 1027 01:01:31,800 --> 01:01:33,400 Speaker 6: Around their own affairs. 1028 01:01:34,280 --> 01:01:37,520 Speaker 4: This is very interesting from anarchists perspective not to see 1029 01:01:37,640 --> 01:01:42,720 Speaker 4: how one of the main political points is these promotings 1030 01:01:42,760 --> 01:01:46,880 Speaker 4: of defense and creating a military force that is not 1031 01:01:47,080 --> 01:01:51,360 Speaker 4: based on a centralized monopoly of balance, but on allowing 1032 01:01:51,680 --> 01:01:55,080 Speaker 4: every community to take care of their own defense and 1033 01:01:55,240 --> 01:01:55,960 Speaker 4: their own affairs. 1034 01:01:56,560 --> 01:01:58,600 Speaker 6: This is a really inspiring. 1035 01:01:58,120 --> 01:02:01,920 Speaker 4: Element that for us as I mean also a really 1036 01:02:02,000 --> 01:02:05,440 Speaker 4: extraordinary learning process. 1037 01:02:04,280 --> 01:02:05,600 Speaker 6: Being part of a revolution. 1038 01:02:05,800 --> 01:02:10,560 Speaker 4: Leaving day to day the developments that are happening here 1039 01:02:11,240 --> 01:02:15,240 Speaker 4: and seeing what doesn't mean to make a revolution because 1040 01:02:15,880 --> 01:02:19,680 Speaker 4: in something that sometimes we anarchists look back often in 1041 01:02:19,760 --> 01:02:23,040 Speaker 4: at the epic times of like Spain on thirty six 1042 01:02:23,760 --> 01:02:26,960 Speaker 4: Ukraine in the twenties to see examples of like an 1043 01:02:26,960 --> 01:02:28,320 Speaker 4: anarchist revolution. 1044 01:02:28,520 --> 01:02:31,840 Speaker 6: And this is something that today is happening here. 1045 01:02:32,880 --> 01:02:33,080 Speaker 4: Good. 1046 01:02:33,120 --> 01:02:36,480 Speaker 6: This tant has been for a long time leaving a 1047 01:02:36,600 --> 01:02:38,120 Speaker 6: resistance against. 1048 01:02:38,040 --> 01:02:41,200 Speaker 4: The logic of national states, especially in turky but we 1049 01:02:41,320 --> 01:02:43,840 Speaker 4: saw how it has been funding in Syria where like 1050 01:02:44,440 --> 01:02:48,720 Speaker 4: this movement found the space to put in practice these 1051 01:02:48,720 --> 01:02:53,600 Speaker 4: ideas and to develop the revolutionary society that has been 1052 01:02:53,840 --> 01:02:57,480 Speaker 4: theorized for a long time. So even if we cannot 1053 01:02:57,480 --> 01:03:01,080 Speaker 4: save Vergialism an anarchist region can say how at his 1054 01:03:01,200 --> 01:03:06,320 Speaker 4: principles inspired the project and that it's been developed here 1055 01:03:06,480 --> 01:03:11,680 Speaker 4: and implemented. This is a really an important school. It 1056 01:03:11,840 --> 01:03:14,720 Speaker 4: brings a lot of lections of the big challenges of 1057 01:03:15,440 --> 01:03:22,040 Speaker 4: reorganizing a society with principles of libertarian socialism. It is 1058 01:03:22,160 --> 01:03:27,320 Speaker 4: especially complicated here because of external reasons like the situation 1059 01:03:27,400 --> 01:03:30,520 Speaker 4: of the Marble, the constant threat of the Tutis army, 1060 01:03:31,160 --> 01:03:34,800 Speaker 4: and this is something that for sure we can point 1061 01:03:34,880 --> 01:03:37,360 Speaker 4: out as like, well, it's very difficult to make a 1062 01:03:37,400 --> 01:03:40,640 Speaker 4: revolution with these factors. But this is also a lesson 1063 01:03:40,680 --> 01:03:44,040 Speaker 4: that making a revolution will always be. 1064 01:03:44,080 --> 01:03:47,760 Speaker 6: Difficult, and we always have really big. 1065 01:03:47,760 --> 01:03:51,520 Speaker 4: Factors that make the situation very difficult. If making a 1066 01:03:51,560 --> 01:03:55,440 Speaker 4: revolution would be easy, we would already have done it. 1067 01:03:55,800 --> 01:03:59,120 Speaker 4: So of course it's something that brings a lot of difficulties, 1068 01:03:59,160 --> 01:04:02,080 Speaker 4: a lot of compleation, and a lot of challenges and 1069 01:04:02,440 --> 01:04:06,080 Speaker 4: use here day to day living what it means to 1070 01:04:06,360 --> 01:04:09,080 Speaker 4: build their evolutionary society, a lot of a lot of 1071 01:04:09,080 --> 01:04:13,640 Speaker 4: equations from the reflections that we also able to translate 1072 01:04:13,720 --> 01:04:15,000 Speaker 4: and to reflect together with. 1073 01:04:15,000 --> 01:04:18,960 Speaker 6: The artist movements from around the world, to learn family. 1074 01:04:18,880 --> 01:04:23,960 Speaker 7: Experience, and to be able to analyze together and reflect 1075 01:04:24,040 --> 01:04:28,680 Speaker 7: and discuss together of what it means to build anarchism 1076 01:04:28,800 --> 01:04:32,400 Speaker 7: in the twenty first century, what it means to build 1077 01:04:32,800 --> 01:04:34,840 Speaker 7: libertarian socialism nowadays. 1078 01:04:35,040 --> 01:04:38,360 Speaker 6: In the current society with all the different elements that 1079 01:04:38,440 --> 01:04:42,120 Speaker 6: we see, and of course in. 1080 01:04:41,320 --> 01:04:46,520 Speaker 4: The military council division going, it can seem maybe sometimes 1081 01:04:46,520 --> 01:04:51,280 Speaker 4: far away of community in western countries, but I think 1082 01:04:51,320 --> 01:04:54,520 Speaker 4: it's important to remember that revolution and war have been 1083 01:04:54,600 --> 01:04:59,640 Speaker 4: always to site. At the same time, it's in these 1084 01:04:59,720 --> 01:05:04,720 Speaker 4: mode of instability of war where the logic and the 1085 01:05:04,800 --> 01:05:10,840 Speaker 4: established school of national states is more weak, because we 1086 01:05:10,880 --> 01:05:11,800 Speaker 4: can actually see. 1087 01:05:11,760 --> 01:05:13,640 Speaker 6: Nine other times in another moment or. 1088 01:05:13,640 --> 01:05:17,560 Speaker 4: Even in other places nowadays, what is happening for example, 1089 01:05:17,600 --> 01:05:20,520 Speaker 4: and there now what is happening in the different areas 1090 01:05:20,560 --> 01:05:23,960 Speaker 4: where the logic of a national state has been questioned, 1091 01:05:24,640 --> 01:05:27,720 Speaker 4: creates in the stability to create a situation where the 1092 01:05:27,840 --> 01:05:30,920 Speaker 4: different actors will push to take control. 1093 01:05:31,440 --> 01:05:35,960 Speaker 6: And we know that often those actors will be met by. 1094 01:05:35,800 --> 01:05:40,200 Speaker 4: A nationalism and forces mentality with an authoritarian logic to 1095 01:05:40,440 --> 01:05:46,040 Speaker 4: just impose their ideas and their aims by force. And 1096 01:05:46,360 --> 01:05:49,560 Speaker 4: it's very important that we think and we reflect and 1097 01:05:49,640 --> 01:05:55,040 Speaker 4: reorganize force that is able to react to that situation 1098 01:05:55,600 --> 01:06:00,560 Speaker 4: because a traitarian and hierarchic miter structures. 1099 01:06:00,480 --> 01:06:01,920 Speaker 6: Are quite false. 1100 01:06:02,040 --> 01:06:06,120 Speaker 4: To react, we as anarchists, we need time to organize 1101 01:06:06,120 --> 01:06:09,400 Speaker 4: arizon pay because our structures. 1102 01:06:08,920 --> 01:06:13,640 Speaker 6: Function based us on trust also make knowing each other 1103 01:06:14,120 --> 01:06:17,919 Speaker 6: and even if I really believe that they are much 1104 01:06:17,960 --> 01:06:19,480 Speaker 6: more solid and much more. 1105 01:06:19,400 --> 01:06:23,400 Speaker 4: Reliable in a long term, in a short term we 1106 01:06:23,440 --> 01:06:24,280 Speaker 4: can face. 1107 01:06:24,120 --> 01:06:27,280 Speaker 6: Big, big challenge. So it's important. 1108 01:06:26,840 --> 01:06:30,800 Speaker 4: To see fascism is as with advancing all around the world, 1109 01:06:31,440 --> 01:06:35,360 Speaker 4: and we can see how the intentions are growing. 1110 01:06:36,160 --> 01:06:38,040 Speaker 6: So maybe this isn't. 1111 01:06:37,920 --> 01:06:41,640 Speaker 4: As a call min to learn from the lessons here, 1112 01:06:41,840 --> 01:06:45,840 Speaker 4: to learn from how the Kurdish movement have been working 1113 01:06:45,880 --> 01:06:50,360 Speaker 4: and preparing for decades and what happened in Syria made 1114 01:06:50,440 --> 01:06:56,120 Speaker 4: possible for the revolutionary movement to put the cards on 1115 01:06:56,160 --> 01:06:58,960 Speaker 4: the table, to organize together with the people and to 1116 01:06:59,080 --> 01:07:04,920 Speaker 4: defend their people and their communities, building these rebuffering process 1117 01:07:05,400 --> 01:07:09,080 Speaker 4: that nowadays that so many people have been like taking 1118 01:07:09,120 --> 01:07:10,280 Speaker 4: inspiration from. 1119 01:07:10,440 --> 01:07:15,120 Speaker 6: So yeah, probably this is a bit confusing and maybe 1120 01:07:15,560 --> 01:07:16,440 Speaker 6: not so clearent. 1121 01:07:17,280 --> 01:07:22,040 Speaker 4: Sorry, we have been quiet some hours. We've had several 1122 01:07:22,120 --> 01:07:26,280 Speaker 4: weeks that have been extremely challenging with really few hours 1123 01:07:26,280 --> 01:07:30,080 Speaker 4: of sleep. But I hope this is more or less clear, 1124 01:07:30,760 --> 01:07:33,960 Speaker 4: and this is doing is something that it's not so 1125 01:07:34,040 --> 01:07:41,920 Speaker 4: understandable and always welcome new and new questions and helping answer, 1126 01:07:42,520 --> 01:07:44,800 Speaker 4: answer and share more perspective. 1127 01:07:45,520 --> 01:07:49,560 Speaker 6: We have been answer writing some statements and we are 1128 01:07:50,320 --> 01:07:53,040 Speaker 6: answer trying to answer all. 1129 01:07:53,000 --> 01:07:57,360 Speaker 4: Those people interested in learning more about the situation here 1130 01:07:58,000 --> 01:08:00,360 Speaker 4: and in ways to support the revenue. 1131 01:08:04,000 --> 01:08:06,480 Speaker 1: It could happen. Here is a production of cool Zone Media. 1132 01:08:06,680 --> 01:08:09,680 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website. 1133 01:08:09,800 --> 01:08:13,400 Speaker 1: Folzonmedia dot com or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, 1134 01:08:13,440 --> 01:08:17,000 Speaker 1: Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can 1135 01:08:17,080 --> 01:08:19,400 Speaker 1: now find sources for it could happen here, listed directly 1136 01:08:19,400 --> 01:08:20,680 Speaker 1: in episode descriptions. 1137 01:08:20,880 --> 01:08:21,719 Speaker 6: Thanks for listening,